Seis Veces al Día: The Song Behind the Dentista Books
Published onFeb 15, 2018 • • ViewBooksblog posts
Although I’ve been a film and animation geek most of my life, even I wasn’t aware of the existence of Seis Veces al Día, one of the more obscure mysteries in film history.
In the 1950s, an empty rowboat washed up on the shores of Punta Umbría, Spain. No one was aboard. But inside was a reel of film containing a very mysterious animation.
What’s particularly odd is that experts date its creation to the late 1920s. That puts it around the same time as Steamboat Willie, when synchronizing recorded sound with animation was still a remarkable technical achievement.
But who created this strange little story? Who wrote this haunting melody? And how did it end up on that boat? For decades, experts have argued over the origins and meaning of this mysterious film.
Ok, everything I just wrote about the film’s history is a lie.
Seis Veces al Día is a Señor Wooly animated music video connected to the Dentista graphic novels.
But I do think that little backstory is fun if you’re using the books with your students.
The lyrics to Seis Veces al Día
The lyrics are pretty short:
Antes y después de desayunar
Antes y después de almorzar
Antes y después de cenar
Seis veces al día
That’s it, repeated over and over.
Before and after breakfast. Before and after lunch. Before and after dinner. Six times a day.
The lyrics never say what you’re supposed to do six times a day. We left the toothbrushing to the visuals. But you do get a lot of repetition of antes y después de and the verbs desayunar, almorzar, and cenar.
A perfectly normal island childhood
On Carolina and Mía’s island, this is a song children grow up singing in school. Whether they want to or not.
And then it comes back
In the second book, La ciudad de La Dentista, Carolina and Mía encounter the animation itself.
They had completely forgotten it existed. And then there it is, playing in front of them again.
There’s more to this island
If you haven’t read the books, start with La casa de La Dentista. Carolina and Mía’s story continues in La ciudad de La Dentista and La isla de La Dentista.
Already have a Wooly license?
Digital editions of La casa de La Dentista and La ciudad de La Dentista are included with your Wooly license. You can read both books with your students on the site.
La isla de La Dentista is currently available in print only.
