Contenidos
Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) — Shakira (2010)
The song of the World Cup that Spain won. A chorus from Cameroon, four chords you already know and a whole stadium answering at once.
🏷️ Ficha musical
Why it's in this book
"Waka Waka" is the June song, the one that closes the year and opens the concert. By then you can sing in two parts and play in a band, and this song brings it all together: Afropop, a stadium chorus and movement. It uses the most-sung four-chord loop in pop, C, G, A minor and F, the same as "Love Story", "Anti-Hero", "drivers license" or "Stay" in this book. What you learn is call and response: "tsamina mina" is a line one voice throws out and everyone else answers. In your classroom with no instruments, you sing the call and the response and move to the beat. With ukuleles, the four chords. In the music room, the drums play the African pattern and the xylophones repeat an ostinato.
Why this song
On 11 July 2010, at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, Shakira sang "Waka Waka" before the World Cup final. That night Spain beat the Netherlands and became world champions for the first time.
If someone at home watched that match, this song will ring a bell for them. If not, you have heard it at a party, a wedding or an end-of-year celebration.
The question on this page is: why does a song from 2010 still make everyone sing the chorus?
Historical context
Shakira is a Colombian singer. In 2010, FIFA chose her song as the official song of the South Africa World Cup, the first ever played in Africa.
Shakira wrote it with the American producer John Hill. Then they invited Freshlyground, a band from Cape Town in South Africa. Their singer, Zolani Mahola, sings one part in Xhosa, one of South Africa's languages.
Foto: Brenda Lee, CC BY 2.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Freshlyground at a concert in 2011. They are the South African band who sing with Shakira on "Waka Waka".
The chorus is not Shakira's. It comes from "Zangaléwa", a 1986 song by the Cameroonian band Golden Sounds. It was a hit all over Africa and in Colombia too, where Shakira heard it as a child. And Golden Sounds did not invent it either: they adapted it from military marches of unknown origin. A melody can travel from hand to hand for decades.
There was controversy: many South Africans felt the World Cup song should have been sung by a South African artist. The members of Golden Sounds, on the other hand, held a press conference to say they would not be suing anyone.
Musical characteristics
Four chords you already know. Listen to the chorus: four chords repeat non-stop. In class they are C, G, A minor and F. It is the most-used loop in recent pop. A series of chords that repeats like this is a chord progression, and when it goes round and round without stopping it is called a loop.
Someone calls, everyone answers. The chorus works like a game: one voice throws out a line and the choir repeats it or answers. That is call and response. It comes from African music, and it is the perfect way to get a whole stadium singing without knowing the words.
A mix of Africa and the Americas. The rhythm brings together things from many places. There is a guitar playing quick, bright lines in the style of Congolese rumba. The percussion pushes like Caribbean party music. All of that sits under a very easy-to-sing pop song.
What the xylophones repeat. In class, the xylophones play a short phrase that repeats throughout the song without changing. A phrase repeated like this, underneath the melody, is called an ostinato.
A warning for when you play. The record is in D major. In class you play it in C major, one tone lower, because C, G, A minor and F are the easiest chords on the ukulele. Moving a song to another pitch is called transposing.
Hard facts: D major on the record and C major in class, 4/4, 128 beats per minute, 3:22. The form, probably: verses that build into a pre-chorus, and the call-and-response chorus, several times.
Guided listening
Play the music video. At the start, listen to the guitar playing quick, high lines. It is not strumming chords: it is picking single notes.
When the chorus arrives, notice who sings each line. Does Shakira sing alone, or does a choir answer her?
Count the chords in the chorus on your fingers. How many are there before it starts again?
When Zolani Mahola's voice comes in, listen to the language. It is not English or Spanish: it is Xhosa.
Trivia and curiosities
- Shakira also recorded a Spanish version, "Waka Waka (Esto es África)". In English the lyrics compare footballers to soldiers; in Spanish they talk about walls coming down.
- Footballers like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo appear in the video. It is one of the most-watched videos in YouTube history.
- Shakira heard the chorus as a child in Colombia. A song from Cameroon reached Colombia thanks to African DJs, and came back to Africa 24 years later at a World Cup.
- According to Guinness World Records, it is the most-streamed World Cup song on Spotify.
Classroom activities
- Call and response. One person sings the call from the chorus; the class answers. Change who calls each time.
- Xylophone ostinato. One group makes up a short phrase using the notes of C major and repeats it non-stop. The rest sing the chorus on top.
- The loop. Ukulele: C, G, A minor, F, one chord per bar. When it works, play it under another song with the same loop, like "Love Story". Does it fit?
- For the concert. Full band: drums with the African pattern, xylophones with the ostinato, ukuleles with the loop and two voices in the chorus.
Key vocabulary
- Chord progression — progresión de acordes
- Loop — bucle: una progresión que da vueltas sin parar
- Call and response — llamada y respuesta
- Ostinato — ostinato: frase corta que se repite sin cambiar
- Transposing — transportar: pasar la canción entera a otra altura
Resources
Official music video — From Shakira's channel, the official World Cup version.
Spanish version, to compare — "Waka Waka (Esto es África)". Same music, different lyrics.
Ukulele tutorial — Kulea Ukulele. Play along with the song using the class chords: C, G, A minor, F.
Guitar tutorial — Cifra Club. Chords and rhythm.
Keyboard tutorial — Betacustic. A beginner version.
Bucket drums and boomwhackers — Emil. Play the rhythm without a drum kit, in any classroom.
Por qué está en este libro
«Waka Waka» es la canción de junio, la que cierra el curso y abre el concierto. Para entonces ya sabéis cantar a dos voces y tocar en banda, y esta canción lo junta todo: afro-pop, coro de estadio y movimiento. Usa el bucle de cuatro acordes más cantado del pop, do, sol, la menor y fa, el mismo de «Love Story», «Anti-Hero», «drivers license» o «Stay» en este libro. Lo que aprendéis es la llamada y respuesta: el «tsamina mina» es una frase que lanza una voz y contesta el resto. En tu aula, sin instrumentos, cantáis la llamada y la respuesta y os movéis con el ritmo. Con el ukelele, los cuatro acordes. En el aula de música, la batería toca el patrón africano y los xilófonos repiten un ostinato.
Por dónde entrar
El 11 de julio de 2010, en el estadio Soccer City de Johannesburgo, Shakira cantó «Waka Waka» antes de la final del Mundial. Esa noche, España ganó a Países Bajos y fue campeona del mundo por primera vez.
Si alguien en tu casa vio aquel partido, esta canción le suena. Y si no, la has oído en alguna fiesta, boda o fin de curso.
La pregunta de esta página es: ¿por qué una canción de 2010 sigue haciendo que todo el mundo cante el estribillo?
Contexto histórico
Shakira es una cantante colombiana. En 2010, la FIFA eligió su canción como la oficial del Mundial de Sudáfrica, el primero que se jugaba en África.
Shakira la escribió con el productor estadounidense John Hill. Después invitaron a Freshlyground, un grupo de Ciudad del Cabo (Sudáfrica). Su cantante, Zolani Mahola, canta una parte en xhosa, una de las lenguas de Sudáfrica.
Foto: Brenda Lee, CC BY 2.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Freshlyground en un concierto de 2011. Son el grupo sudafricano que canta con Shakira en «Waka Waka».
El estribillo no es de Shakira. Viene de «Zangaléwa», una canción de 1986 del grupo camerunés Golden Sounds. Fue un éxito en toda África y también en Colombia, donde Shakira la escuchó de pequeña. Y Golden Sounds tampoco lo inventó: lo adaptó de marchas militares de origen desconocido. Una melodía puede viajar de mano en mano durante décadas.
Hubo polémica: muchos sudafricanos creían que la canción del Mundial debía cantarla un artista de su país. Los miembros de Golden Sounds, en cambio, dieron una rueda de prensa para decir que no iban a denunciar a nadie.
Cómo suena
Cuatro acordes que ya conoces. Escucha el estribillo: hay cuatro acordes que se repiten sin parar. En clase son do, sol, la menor y fa. Es el bucle más usado del pop de los últimos años. Una serie de acordes que se repite así es una progresión de acordes, y cuando da vueltas sin parar se llama bucle.
Alguien llama, todos contestan. El estribillo funciona como un juego: una voz lanza una frase y el coro la repite o le contesta. Eso es llamada y respuesta. Viene de la música africana, y es la forma perfecta para que un estadio entero cante sin saberse la letra.
Mezcla de África y América. El ritmo junta cosas de muchos sitios. Hay una guitarra que toca frases rápidas y brillantes, al estilo de la rumba del Congo. La percusión empuja como en la música de fiesta del Caribe. Todo eso encima de un pop muy fácil de cantar.
Lo que repiten los xilófonos. En clase, los xilófonos tocan una frase corta que se repite durante toda la canción, sin cambiar. Una frase que se repite así, por debajo de la melodía, se llama ostinato.
Un aviso para cuando toques. El disco está en re mayor. En clase lo tocáis en do mayor, un tono más grave, porque do, sol, la menor y fa son los acordes más fáciles del ukelele. Pasar una canción a otra altura se llama transportar.
Datos duros: re mayor en el disco y do mayor en clase, 4/4, 128 pulsos por minuto, 3:22. La forma, probablemente: estrofas que crecen hasta un preestribillo, y el estribillo de llamada y respuesta, varias veces.
Escucha guiada
Pon el videoclip. Al principio, escucha la guitarra que toca frases rápidas y agudas. No rasguea acordes: puntea notas sueltas.
Cuando llegue el estribillo, fíjate en quién canta cada frase. ¿Canta Shakira sola o le contesta un coro?
Cuenta los acordes del estribillo con los dedos. ¿Cuántos hay antes de que vuelva a empezar?
Cuando entre la voz de Zolani Mahola, escucha la lengua. No es inglés ni castellano: es xhosa.
Curiosidades
- Shakira grabó también una versión en castellano, «Waka Waka (Esto es África)». En inglés la letra compara a los futbolistas con soldados; en castellano habla de muros que se caen.
- En el videoclip aparecen futbolistas como Messi y Cristiano Ronaldo. Es uno de los vídeos más vistos de la historia de YouTube.
- Shakira escuchó el estribillo de pequeña, en Colombia. Una canción de Camerún llegó a Colombia gracias a los pinchadiscos africanos, y volvió a África 24 años después en un Mundial.
- Es la canción de un Mundial más escuchada en Spotify, según el libro Guinness de los récords.
Para hacer en clase
- Llamada y respuesta. Una persona canta la llamada del estribillo; la clase responde. Cambiad quién llama cada vez.
- Ostinato en xilófono. Un grupo inventa una frase corta con las notas de do mayor y la repite sin parar. El resto canta el estribillo encima.
- El bucle. Ukelele: do, sol, la menor, fa, un acorde por compás. Cuando salga, tocad encima de otra canción del mismo bucle, por ejemplo «Love Story». ¿Encaja?
- Para el concierto. Banda completa: batería con el patrón africano, xilófonos con el ostinato, ukeleles con el bucle y dos voces en el estribillo.
Vocabulario fundamental
- Progresión de acordes — Una serie de acordes que se repite en el mismo orden. Aquí, do, sol, la menor, fa.
- Bucle — Una progresión que da vueltas sin parar, de principio a fin.
- Llamada y respuesta — Una voz lanza una frase y el resto le contesta.
- Ostinato — Una frase corta que se repite sin cambiar durante toda la canción.
- Transportar — Pasar una canción entera a otra altura sin cambiar nada más.
Recursos
Videoclip oficial — Del canal de Shakira, la versión oficial del Mundial.
Versión en castellano, para comparar — «Waka Waka (Esto es África)». Misma música, otra letra.
Tutorial de ukelele — Kulea Ukulele. Para tocar con la canción, con los acordes de clase: do, sol, la menor, fa.
Tutorial de guitarra — Cifra Club. Acordes y ritmo.
Tutorial de teclado — Betacustic. Versión para principiantes.
Percusión con cubos y boomwhackers — Emil. Para tocar el ritmo sin batería, en cualquier aula.
Why it's in this book
"Waka Waka" is the June song, the one that closes the year and opens the concert. By then you can sing in two parts and play in a band, and this song brings it all together: Afropop, a stadium chorus and movement. It uses the most-sung four-chord loop in pop, C, G, A minor and F, the same as "Love Story", "Anti-Hero", "drivers license" or "Stay" in this book. What you learn is call and response: "tsamina mina" is a line one voice throws out and everyone else answers. In your classroom with no instruments, you sing the call and the response and move to the beat. With ukuleles, the four chords. In the music room, the drums play the African pattern and the xylophones repeat an ostinato.
Why this song
On 11 July 2010, at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, Shakira sang "Waka Waka" before the World Cup final. That night Spain beat the Netherlands and became world champions for the first time.
If someone at home watched that match, this song will ring a bell for them. If not, you have heard it at a party, a wedding or an end-of-year celebration.
The question on this page is: why does a song from 2010 still make everyone sing the chorus?
Historical context
Shakira is a Colombian singer. In 2010, FIFA chose her song as the official song of the South Africa World Cup, the first ever played in Africa.
Shakira wrote it with the American producer John Hill. Then they invited Freshlyground, a band from Cape Town in South Africa. Their singer, Zolani Mahola, sings one part in Xhosa, one of South Africa's languages.
Foto: Brenda Lee, CC BY 2.0, vía Wikimedia Commons
Freshlyground at a concert in 2011. They are the South African band who sing with Shakira on "Waka Waka".
The chorus is not Shakira's. It comes from "Zangaléwa", a 1986 song by the Cameroonian band Golden Sounds. It was a hit all over Africa and in Colombia too, where Shakira heard it as a child. And Golden Sounds did not invent it either: they adapted it from military marches of unknown origin. A melody can travel from hand to hand for decades.
There was controversy: many South Africans felt the World Cup song should have been sung by a South African artist. The members of Golden Sounds, on the other hand, held a press conference to say they would not be suing anyone.
Musical characteristics
Four chords you already know. Listen to the chorus: four chords repeat non-stop. In class they are C, G, A minor and F. It is the most-used loop in recent pop. A series of chords that repeats like this is a chord progression, and when it goes round and round without stopping it is called a loop.
Someone calls, everyone answers. The chorus works like a game: one voice throws out a line and the choir repeats it or answers. That is call and response. It comes from African music, and it is the perfect way to get a whole stadium singing without knowing the words.
A mix of Africa and the Americas. The rhythm brings together things from many places. There is a guitar playing quick, bright lines in the style of Congolese rumba. The percussion pushes like Caribbean party music. All of that sits under a very easy-to-sing pop song.
What the xylophones repeat. In class, the xylophones play a short phrase that repeats throughout the song without changing. A phrase repeated like this, underneath the melody, is called an ostinato.
A warning for when you play. The record is in D major. In class you play it in C major, one tone lower, because C, G, A minor and F are the easiest chords on the ukulele. Moving a song to another pitch is called transposing.
Hard facts: D major on the record and C major in class, 4/4, 128 beats per minute, 3:22. The form, probably: verses that build into a pre-chorus, and the call-and-response chorus, several times.
Guided listening
Play the music video. At the start, listen to the guitar playing quick, high lines. It is not strumming chords: it is picking single notes.
When the chorus arrives, notice who sings each line. Does Shakira sing alone, or does a choir answer her?
Count the chords in the chorus on your fingers. How many are there before it starts again?
When Zolani Mahola's voice comes in, listen to the language. It is not English or Spanish: it is Xhosa.
Trivia and curiosities
- Shakira also recorded a Spanish version, "Waka Waka (Esto es África)". In English the lyrics compare footballers to soldiers; in Spanish they talk about walls coming down.
- Footballers like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo appear in the video. It is one of the most-watched videos in YouTube history.
- Shakira heard the chorus as a child in Colombia. A song from Cameroon reached Colombia thanks to African DJs, and came back to Africa 24 years later at a World Cup.
- According to Guinness World Records, it is the most-streamed World Cup song on Spotify.
Classroom activities
- Call and response. One person sings the call from the chorus; the class answers. Change who calls each time.
- Xylophone ostinato. One group makes up a short phrase using the notes of C major and repeats it non-stop. The rest sing the chorus on top.
- The loop. Ukulele: C, G, A minor, F, one chord per bar. When it works, play it under another song with the same loop, like "Love Story". Does it fit?
- For the concert. Full band: drums with the African pattern, xylophones with the ostinato, ukuleles with the loop and two voices in the chorus.
Key vocabulary
- Chord progression — progresión de acordes
- Loop — bucle: una progresión que da vueltas sin parar
- Call and response — llamada y respuesta
- Ostinato — ostinato: frase corta que se repite sin cambiar
- Transposing — transportar: pasar la canción entera a otra altura
Resources
Official music video — From Shakira's channel, the official World Cup version.
Spanish version, to compare — "Waka Waka (Esto es África)". Same music, different lyrics.
Ukulele tutorial — Kulea Ukulele. Play along with the song using the class chords: C, G, A minor, F.
Guitar tutorial — Cifra Club. Chords and rhythm.
Keyboard tutorial — Betacustic. A beginner version.
Bucket drums and boomwhackers — Emil. Play the rhythm without a drum kit, in any classroom.