Mister Felipe
Gig Seeker Pro

Mister Felipe

Band Latin Children's Music

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Our Favorite Music for Teaching Language!"

Mister Felipe offers a great Spanish-English CD that Ivan loves. One of the cool things about this CD is that Mister Felipe samples all sorts of different traditional song styles, like Merengue and Mambo, Bolero and Ranchera. It’s really fun to hear the different musical styles and see how they change the mood of the songs. Mister Felipe also includes lots of kids’ voices on his songs, which children find irrisistable, and hearing kids speak in both English and Spanish makes the language seem much more accsssible. Mister Felipe is also very good at introducing Spanish vocabulary in one song then using it again in another so that you really feel like you are using what you have learned.

Ivan’s favorite song on this CD is The Calendario Mambo because he loves hearing the kids say “Cha-cha-cha!” He also loves Me Gustan Los Animales (I Like Animals) because, like a good game, you hear the Spanish name for the animal then the sound it makes and you have to figure out what animal they are singing about. Very fun! - Boston Children's Music


"Fun, Educational and "Get Dancing" Kind of CD"

The album, "Mister Felipe-- Cruzando El Border" brings wonderful bilingual music for kids to sing along with, dance to, and laugh with.

Mister Felipe is actually Philip Handmaker, a Spanish and Music teacher living in Taos, a town in northern New Mexico. Growing up in New Mexico, he heard a lot of Spanish on the playground, and he studied the language in high school and college. After getting a master's degree in Applied Linguistics and teaching bilingually in Arlington, Virginia for several years, he at last moved back to Nuevo México, where he is combining his lifelong passions of music, language, and teaching.

In his album, Handmaker combines English and Spanish, and my kids love it, which makes me very happy as I know that right now my munchkin boys are like sponges soaking up whatever educational resources that I can provide them. When they listen, sing and dance around as they are actually learning Spanish words, months, numbers and even the alphabet, it is awesome.

Mr. Felipe has a great website where not only can you hear the songs, read lyrics kids can learn about different instruments, print out fun coloring pages, and check out fun examples of Spanglish that visitors send in.

There are cute silly songs like the ¡Fuera, Perro... all about a very mischievous dog ( my 4 year old's favorite!), and Vamos Afuera which is about two friends, one who wants to play outside and another who's worried about getting dirty and prefers indoors. Muévete is a reggaeton song that gets kids dancing as they learn the parts of the body. Me Gustan los Animales is all about animals on a farm. And there are fun sing along songs that teach kids the months of the year, numbers and teh alphabet.

[article received 18 comments from readers] - Happy Healthy Families


"Mister Felipe Cruises the Border Between Spanish and English"

Our children are so fortunate to be exposed to many cultures and languages. Mister Felipe is a fun, bilingual children’s musician who sings songs in both English and Spanish. His new album, Cruzando El Border is so fun to listen to. My kids started dancing as soon as I put the CD on. Being a teacher, Philip Handmaker, aka Mister Felipe places the perfect combination of Spanish and English so the kids understand and soak it all in.

We are constantly listening to the CD in the car now, displacing other favourites. My youngest taps his toes to the music and my five year old recognizes some of the Spanish words. Each song focuses on a specific topic, ranging from counting to colours. Including children in the songs, singing along is always an added bonus. Our favourites (so far) are “I Like Animals (Me Gustan Los Animales) and “Let’s Go Outside (Vamos Afuera)”.

The CD is so cool that each song is a different style of music, like rock, reggae and Mambo, to mention a few. The variety really fits together well, leaving even parents grooving to the music.

You can find Mister Felipe’s Cruzando El Border online at CD Baby and iTunes. Be sure to check out Mister Felipe’s website at www.MisterFelipe.com where you will find. colouring pages and tons of educational resources. – by Chelle

http://www.theopinionatedparent.com/2009/06/03/mister-felipe-cruzando-el-border/ - The Opinionated Parent


Discography

>>Cruzando el Border, LP CD--all 11 songs available for listening at misterfelipe.com.
>>¡Fuera, Perro! - single available as animated music video on YouTube
>>Several songs have been played on KXMT radio, and Que Dia has been played on KTAO radio in Taos, NM.

Photos

Bio

Mister Felipe is Philip Handmaker, a teacher of español and música in the community of Taos, Nuevo México. Growing up in New Mexico, he heard a lot of Spanish on the playground, and he studied the language in high school and college . After getting a master's degree in Applied Linguistics and teaching bilingually in Arlington, Virginia for several years, he worked in Guatemala and Peru and fell in love with Latin music. In 2005 he at last moved back to Nuevo México, where he is combining his lifelong passions of music, language, and teaching.