This song is an older sanjuanito recorded by Los Conquistadores in the late 1990s for Producto­res Independientes, a chichera record label in Quito. It was recycled with new lyrics and modern instrumentation appealing to the working-class population.

“El cone­jito” employs a rabbit figure to tell the story of a man who comes to visit a woman at midnight and jumps into her bed without underwear. When they perform the song, Los Conquistadores wear rabbits’ ears and tails.

Los Conquistadores is a group from Ambato made up of one singer and three dancers performing set choreographies. The group performs “El conejito” at a fast tempo using recorded tapes for accompani­ment, thus underscoring its primary function as a dance. The choreography includes vigorous movements across the stage. Videos of this song can be found in YouTube.

Both música nacional and rocolera artists disparage this piece for its vulgar lyrics. Upper-middle-class audiences also disapprove of “El conejito.” Many young people of this social sector I spoke to acknowledged occasionally watching the video on the television program Diez sobre Diez, which airs on a UHF television channel in Quito. The lyrics, the body gestures, and the singers’ outfits were the subject of mockery because they were considered coarse and tasteless. However, chichera fans reacted enthusiastically to this and other happy chichera songs.

Ay mi conejito era tan vanidón, ay caramba

Subiendo a la cama no quiso bajar, ay caramba

A la media noche llegó sin calzón, ay caramba.

Ay, my little rabbit was so vain, ay caramba

Jumping into bed, he did not want to get out, ay caramba

At midnight he came in without underwear, ay caramba.