Fall 2017

Living a life
immersed in
the humanities
has lessons to
teach us about
connecting
with the
“other” and
embracing
diversity.
In the April 2017 Humanities College convocation, the BYU Mariachi Band and
Choir performed “De colores,” a Mexican folkloric song with melodies dating to
17th-century Spain and with lyrics originating in both Spain and Mexico. Diverse
in origin and in its formal composition, “De colores” has been sung throughout
the years in settings as varied as children’s classrooms and farm worker
protest rallies.
De colores, de colores
Se visten los campos en la primavera.
De colores, de colores
Son los pajaritos que vienen de afuera.
De colores, de colores
Es el arco iris que vemos lucir.
This song translates to English as follows:
In colors, in colors
The fields are dressed in the spring.
In colors, in colors
Are the little birds that come from outside.
In colors, in colors
Is the rainbow that we see shining.
“De colores” is generally thought of as a celebration of the diversity of God’s
creations. In a similar vein, a lifelong study of the humanities will enable you to
more fully appreciate the diversity of our world.
The Literary Hero
As a student at the University of Utah, President Gordon B. Hinckley majored in
English and minored in ancient languages, an extension of the love for literature
he acquired growing up in a house full of literary works. As an adult, he filled
his own house with approximately 1,000 literary, historical, and philosophical
volumes. Concerning the study of books, President Hinckley once said:
by Greg Stallings
It is both relaxing and invigorating to occasionally set aside the worries of
life, seek the company of a friendly book and . . . look into unlived days with
prophets. Youth will delight in the heroic figures of Homer. . . . The absurdity
of Don Quixote riding mightily against a windmill may make your own
pretentiousness seem ridiculous. . . .
12 BYU COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES