"El Burrito de Belén" (English: The Little Donkey from Bethlehem) or "El Burrito Sabanero" (English: The Little Donkey from the Savannah) is an aguinaldo from

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It was written by Hugo Blanco for the 1972 Christmas season. The song was first recorded by the Venezuelan folk singer Simón Díaz, included on his record, ''Las Gaitas de Simon'' where he was accompanied by the Venezuelan Children's Choir. Later, the children's musical group La Rondallita recorded the song in November 1972. This latest version gained popularity in Latin America. It has since been recorded many times by popular artists. Nearly 50 years later, “El Burrito de Belén” remains a yuletide favorite, cherished in Latin communities worldwide — and beyond, into the Anglo market of the United States. For instance, Billboard magazine included the tune in its 2022 list of the Top 100 holiday songs of all time. The song transcends boundaries of genre and geography. Larry & Joe, the so-called Latingrass combo based in North Carolina, recorded the tune (available on Apple Music and Spotify) in 2023.

Cover versions

*Colombian singer-songwriter

Juanes Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 1972), known professionally as Juanes, is a Colombian musician who was a member of the Rock music, rock band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. Since releasing his solo debut album ''Fíjate B ...

recorded his own version of this famous Venezuelan song as the first

radio single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...

from the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Superestrella en Navidades''. *American singer, actress and talk show host

Adrienne Houghton Adrienne Eliza Bailon-Houghton (née Bailon (); born October 24, 1983) is an American television personality, singer, and actress. She is a former member of the girl groups 3LW and the Cheetah Girls. From 2013 to 2022, Bailon was a co-host o ...

released "El Burrito Sabanero" on her debut solo album ''New Tradiciones''. It features Freddy Bailon, Claudette Bailon, Beau Harper and Jet Marie on guest vocals. *American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and philanthropist

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

released his own funky version named "Mi Burrito Sabanero" on his 2018/2019 Christmas album ''Christmas Funk''. *The Arizona-based band

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Dieg ...

included the song on their 2020 Christmas album '' Seasonal Shift'', under the title "Mi Burrito Sabanero". *The Bronx-based bachata group Aventura recorded a bachata cover in 2008. *American

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

band

Fuerza Regida Fuerza Regida is an American regional Mexican band formed in San Bernardino, California in 2015, initially as a cover band. The band is currently compromised of Jesús Ortíz Paz (lead vocals), Samuel Jáimez (backing vocals and 12-string guitar ...

released a cover of the song in 2020, titled as "Burrito Sabanero", as the sixth track from their Christmas EP ''Navidad con la Regida''. *Spanish singer

David Bisbal David Bisbal Ferre (born 5 June 1979) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as the runner-up on the first edition of the reality television talent show '' Operación Triunfo''. He has since released five studi ...

included the song in his 2024 Christmas album Todo Es Posible En Navidad (English: Everything is possible at Christmas)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrito De Belen Venezuelan songs Juanes songs Christmas songs Songs about mammals 2006 singles Songs written by Hugo Blanco (musician) 1972 songs