A la Capotín

Oro Lenca dances A la Capotín in the Fiesta Patronal of La Esperanza in October 2011

A la Capotín is a folk song well known to all Hondurans and widely used to liven up cultural and civic events. The song has a very happy rhythm and is often used by folkloric groups of schools in the country, who with great emotion and pride dance the culturally rich music of Honduras.

This catchy melody is originally from a song called Con el Capotín Tín Tín in the 1880 musical La Canción de la Lola [The Song of Lola], known then as "Fanny". This song and dance is now firmly entrenched in the Honduran repertoire of folk music.

La Canción de la Lola (Chorus)
Con el capotín tín tín tín tín tín tín,
que esta noche va a llover,
Con el capotín tín tín tín tín tín tín,
a eso del amanecer.
With a little cape,
for tonight it's going to rain,
with a little cape,
just around dawn.

Fanny is thus "la del capotín [the girl with the cape]."

La Canción de la Lola [The song of the Lola] or Celos engendran desdichas [Jealousy engenders misfortunes] is a lyrical farce in an act and verse, with a libretto by Ricardo de la Vega and with music by Federico Chueca and Joaquín Valverde. It premiered with great success at the Teatro Alhambra in Madrid on May 25, 1880.