See thread 5841: La Cucaracha

In a post of 04 Feb 08, the lyrics collected in 1883, and the first appearance of the cockroach in a verse of 1818, were given with the Spanish reference. Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi, in his book "La Quijotita y su prima," 1818, is the first I know of that mentions the song. More history and a 19th c. Mexican verse given in a post by Dicho, 15 Jul 02.

The marijuana verses are from the time of Pancho Villa, c. 1913; there are many others to this old Spanish folksong which became popular in Mexico. No reason to use the marijuana verses in a school text because there are hundreds of others, as stated by artbrooks.

The 1883 Spanish version, with its mention of the Moors, is a good one for a school text. However, a school kid that doesn't know about marijuana has been raised in isolation.