Learn Spanish With ROSALÍA with these 23 Song Recommendations (Full Translations Included!)

ROSALÍA
LF Content Team | Updated on 2 February 2023
Learning Spanish with ROSALÍA's music is fun, engaging, and includes a cultural aspect that is often missing from other language learning methods. It is also great way to supplement your learning and stay motivated to keep learning Spanish!
Below are 23 song recommendations by ROSALÍA to get you started! Alongside each recommendation, you will find a snippet of the lyric translations with links to the full lyric translations and lessons for each of the songs!

Rosalía Vila Tobella, known simply as Rosalía, is a groundbreaking Spanish singer and songwriter born in 1992 in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia. Trained at the prestigious Catalonia College of Music, she skillfully blends traditional flamenco with modern genres like pop, hip hop, and urbano, creating a fresh and genre-defying sound.

Her 2018 album El mal querer earned critical acclaim and won the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year, solidifying her place as a transformative artist. Rosalía has continued to innovate with hits like "Con altura" and her experimental 2022 album Motomami, which received universal praise and international attention. With multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy wins, she is celebrated as one of Spain’s most influential contemporary musicians, known for pushing musical boundaries and captivating audiences worldwide.

CONTENTS SUMMARY
Thank Yu :)
A ver, a ver, hola, hola
Mmm, mmm, mmm
Not really, not really
I don't hear my voice so much
Let's see, let's see, hello, hello
Mmm, mmm, mmm
Not really, not really
I don't hear my voice so much

This isn't really a song in the usual sense, but more of a personal voice note from ROSALÍA to you! It's the very last track on her album MOTOMAMI, and it feels like we've been invited into the recording booth with her. It starts with what sounds like a soundcheck: she says, "I don't hear my voice so much," before getting it right and declaring, "Ahora sí, now amazing, amazing" (Now yes, now amazing).

Once the sound is perfect, she speaks directly to the listener. She introduces herself, "Hola, soy la rosalía" (Hello, I'm Rosalía), and acknowledges that you've made it all the way through her album. Her main message is a simple and sweet thank you: "Así que muchas gracias por escucharlo" (So thank you very much for listening to it). The track ends with a little laugh, making it a very charming and informal way to close the record.

MOTOMAMI
Okay motomami
Pesa mi tatami
Hit a lo tsunami
Okay motomami
Okay motomami
My tatami is heavy
Hit like a tsunami
Okay motomami

Spanish superstar ROSALÍA uses this short, sharp title track to lay down the house rules of her world. A motomami is tough, flexible, and completely in charge. Right off the bat, she stacks wild contrasts to describe herself: she is as delicate as folded paper (fina la origami [fine like origami]) but as sharp and uncut as raw fish (cruda a lo sashimi [raw like sashimi]). Her presence lands heavy on the floor mats with pesa mi tatami (my tatami mat is heavy), borrowing the Japanese word tatami (traditional woven martial arts flooring) to suggest a fighter who takes up serious space.

She also has zero interest in fighting imitators. Instead of getting mad at copycats, she shrugs: A cada copia que ves / Tú dale tu bendición (To every copy you see, give them your blessing). Why bother stressing when no quiero competir / Si no hay comparación (I don't want to compete if there's no comparison)? Underneath the heavy gold jewelry (con la cadena hasta el pie [with the chain down to the foot]), she warns anyone trying to treat her gently that looks are deceiving: No te creas que es sweet / Tu bombón lleno de licor (Don't think it's sweet, your chocolate filled with liquor). She might look like candy, but bite into it and you get a jolt of burning alcohol.

LA FAMA (THE FAME)
Lo que pasó
A ti te lo cuento
No creas que no dolió
O que me lo invento
What happened
I'm telling it to you
Don't think that it didn't hurt
Or that I'm making it up

Spanish superstar ROSALÍA teams up with The Weeknd for a smooth bachata-infused track that treats fame like a toxic romance. Right off the bat, she tells us she gave up a real romance ("Yo tenía mi bebé" [I had my baby]) because she became obsessed with her music career. Her partner kept warning her, but she acted "como si nada" [like it was nothing]. The core of the song turns ambition into a dangerous seductress with the central hook: "Es mala amante la fama, no va a quererte de verdad" [Fame is a bad lover, she won't love you for real].

Both singers warn that fame is intensely jealous, addictive, and quick to vanish ("como ella viene, se te va" [as fast as she comes, she leaves you]). The ambition it brings feels like sharp little stabs directly to the chest ("Puñaladitas da su ambición" [Her ambition gives little stabs]). Even though both singers admit they cannot shake the obsession, they share one blunt rule for survival: you can sleep with fame if you want, but "nunca la vayas a casar" [never go and marry her].

MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) (Badly (Chap. 1: Omen))
Ese cristalito roto
Yo sentí como crujía
Antes de caerse al suelo
Ya sabía que se rompía
That little broken glass
I felt it crack
Before it hit the floor
I already knew it was breaking

ROSALÍA drops us straight into a scene of dark omens and gut feelings in MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio). Right from the start, she knows disaster is coming: "Ese cristalito roto / Yo sentí como crujía / Antes de caerse al suelo / Ya sabía que se rompía" ("That little piece of broken glass / I felt how it crunched / Before falling to the ground / I already knew it was breaking"). From flickering hallway lights to an uneasy night full of moons and stars, everything around her signals trouble. She even describes a nightmare about crossing a bridge that wobbles the faster she moves ("Cuanto más quiero cruzarlo / Más se mueve y tambalea").

Yet instead of hiding away, she heads right out into the dark. She puts on her jewelry for protection: "En la manita los aros brillando, en mi piel los corales" ("On my little hand the rings shining, on my skin the corals"). She also invokes God with the word undivé (a Caló term from the Romani language spoken in Spain for God), chanting "Me proteja, me salve / Me ilumine, me guarde" ("Protect me, save me / Illuminate me, keep me safe"). By the end, she makes it clear she won't waste another second looking back or dwelling on an ex: "No voy a perder ni un minuto en volver a pensarte" ("I'm not going to lose a single minute thinking about you again").

BESO (KISS)
Ya yo necesito otro beso
Uno de esos que tú me das
Estar lejos de ti es el infierno
Estar cerca de ti es mi paz
Now I need another kiss
One of those that you give me
Being far from you is hell
Being near you is my peace

BESO is an open love letter packed into an upbeat Latin Urbano track, sung by Spanish superstar ROSALÍA and Puerto Rican artist Rauw Alejandro. The whole vibe is intensely romantic and needy in the sweetest way possible. They sing about that all-consuming stage of love where being apart feels unbearable: "Estar lejos de ti es el infierno / Estar cerca de ti es mi paz" [Being far from you is hell / Being close to you is my peace]. The chorus turns a simple request for a kiss into extreme devotion, throwing in the Spanish idiom "Yo me voy contigo a matar" [I'd go down fighting with you / I'd ride or die with you], which literally means going to the death for someone.

What makes this track stand out are the specific, quirky details in the verses. Instead of vague compliments, they praise how the other dances like a god, smokes with urgency, and smells like "tabaco y melón / Y a domingo en la ciudad" [tobacco and melon / and like Sunday in the city]. There is also great everyday slang to pick up on, like shortening words: "cel" for teléfono celular [cell phone] and "pa' dónde vas" instead of the formal para dónde vas [where are you going]. It feels playful, affectionate, and completely addicted to the other person's presence.

La Perla (The Pearl)
Hola, ladrón de paz
Campo de minas para mi sensibilidad
Playboy, un campeón
Gasta el dinero que tiene y también el que no
Hello, peace thief
Minefield for my sensibilities
Playboy, a champion
He spends the money he has and also the money he doesn't have

Think of that one person who leaves absolute chaos everywhere they go, yet still acts completely full of themselves. In "La Perla", Spanish singer ROSALÍA and Mexican-American group Yahritza Y Su Esencia tear into a selfish ex with sharp humor. The song's title is deeply sarcastic: calling someone "una perla" ("a pearl") or "una de mucho cuidado" ("one to watch out for") is classic Spanish irony for a total fraud, a guy who wins the "medalla olímpica de oro al más cabrón" ("gold Olympic medal for biggest jerk"). He spends cash he does not have, freeloads in other people's apartments ("si puede vive en casa ajena"), and even when he goes to therapy, he lies through his teeth: "¿Pero de qué te sirve si siempre mientes más que hablas?" ("What good is it if you always lie more than you speak?").

There is plenty of great Spanish slang to learn here. Calling him "el rey de la trece catorce" taps into the phrase hacer la trece-catorce, a colloquial way to say someone is pulling a fast trick or scamming people. He is described as a "bala perdida" ("loose cannon" or "lost cause"), a "red flag andante" ("walking red flag"), and an "estrella de la sinrazón" ("star of foolishness") who blames his bad behavior on his doppelgänger. If you have ever crossed paths with an arrogant freeloader who thinks loyalty is a foreign language, this track will make you laugh while you study.

CANDY
Vestida con F de Fendi
Bailando Plan B, la de Candy
Así tú te prendaste de mí
El día en que yo te conocí
Dressed in F for Fendi
Dancing to Plan B, the one “Candy”
That's how you got hooked on me
The day that I met you

Spanish singer ROSALÍA drops you right into a specific night out: she is dressed in designer clothes, "Vestida con F de Fendi" (Dressed in F for Fendi), dancing to a classic 2000s reggaeton track by Plan B called "Candy" ("Bailando Plan B, la de Candy"). That is the exact moment an ex fell head over heels for her ("Así tú te prendaste de mí" [That's how you got hooked on me]). The catch? While she is totally convinced that he still cannot let her go ("Sé que tú / No me has olvidao'" [I know that you haven't forgotten me]), she has completely moved on. She used to wear his identification bracelet just to remember him ("Llevaba tu esclava para pensarte"), but now she brags that forgetting him became a fine art ("Pero de olvidarte yo ya hice un arte").

Her indifference is delightfully brutal. She literally cannot picture his face or his body anymore ("Ya no me acuerdo de tu cara / La forma de tu cuerpo ni aunque la pensara" [I don't remember your face anymore / Nor the shape of your body even if I thought about it]). By chanting "No queda na-na-na-na-na / Entre tú y yo" (There's nothing left between you and me), where "na" is everyday slang for "nada" (nothing), she makes it clear that the past is dead. Life moved along, even if it has a nasty bite: "La vida es bonita, pero es traicionera" (Life is pretty, but it's treacherous).

Reliquia (Relic)
Yo que perdí mis manos en Jerez
Y mis ojos en Roma
Crecí y el descaro lo aprendí
Por ahí por Barcelona
I lost my hands in Jerez
And my eyes in Rome
I grew up and learned audacity
Somewhere around Barcelona

Spanish singer ROSALÍA turns her world travels into a literal checklist of things she has shed across the globe in Reliquia. Instead of collecting standard souvenirs, she treats her body and spirit like a trail of scattered pieces: losing her hands in Jerez, her eyes in Rome, and her high heels in Milan (Los heels en Milán). She picks up nerve and cheekiness in Barcelona (el descaro lo aprendí), loses a bad romance in Madrid, and even drops her bad temper in Berlin (La mala hostia en Berlín—where mala hostia is classic Spanish slang for a foul mood or aggression). She clips words naturally, turning Granada into Graná', and balances losing a blunt in Mexico with crying off her false eyelashes in Japan.

Even after a bad haircut in the "glass city" and running away like she fled Florida, she refuses to hoard what remains. Instead, she declares that her heart never belonged to her anyway (Pero mi corazón nunca ha sido mío), openly telling the listener to take a piece and keep it for when she is gone (Coge un trozo de mí / Quédatelo pa' cuando no esté). In her eyes, she becomes a sacred relic (Seré tu reliquia). She is not claiming to be a saint (No soy una santa pero estoy blessed), but by leaving parts of herself across every border, she embraces moving through time like a dolphin jumping through a fiery scarlet hoop.

Sauvignon Blanc
Mi luz
La prenderé
Con el Rolls-Royce
Que quemaré
My light
I'll light it
With the Rolls-Royce
That I'll burn

ROSALÍA takes luxury and literally sets it on fire here. She sings about striking a match against high-end status symbols, opening with the wild line "Mi luz la prenderé con el Rolls-Royce que quemaré" [I'll light my fire with the Rolls-Royce that I'll burn]. From there, out go the luxury designer heels ("Mis Jimmy Choos yo las tiraré" [My Jimmy Choos I'll throw away]), the fine china, the pearls, the caviar, and even her upright piano ("regalaré mi piano de pared" [I'll give away my upright piano]). It is dramatic, funny, and totally direct: she is stripping away every flashy possession to earn total peace of mind once there is "nada que perder" [nothing left to lose].

Her new currency is simply love ("Tu amor será mi capital" [Your love will be my capital]). Sitting together with a chilled glass of crisp white wine, she declares that the past has finally sunk right to the bottom of the glass: "En el fondo se hundió en mi Sauvignon Blanc" [At the bottom it sank in my Sauvignon Blanc]. It turns an everyday glass of wine into the ultimate reset button, leaving her confident that her future next to her favorite person is going to be completely golden.

CHICKEN TERIYAKI
La rosalía
Rosa' sin tarjeta
Se las mando a tu gata
Te la tengo con roleta
The Rosalía
Roses without a card
I send them to your babe
I've got her for you on roulette

Get ready for a fun one! "CHICKEN TERIYAKI" is ROSALÍA's playful celebration of her success, fame, and money. She's living a fast, luxurious life, especially in New York City, where she's "visitando a mi joyero" [visiting my jeweler] and "patinando para los heights" [skating to the Heights]. The whole song is a series of confident boasts, from wanting a chain so expensive it could "arruine toda la cuenta" [ruin the whole bank account] to acknowledging the downside of fame with the very blunt line: "Y sí, la fama es una condena / Pero dime otra que te pague la cena" [And yes, fame is a curse / But tell me another that pays for your dinner].

What makes the song so great is its funny, almost random energy. The title itself comes from the line "Para ti naki, chicken teriyaki" [For you, nothing, chicken teriyaki], which is a playful way of dismissing someone. She contrasts her world with others, saying "Tu gata quiere maki, mi gata en kawasaki" [Your girl wants maki (sushi), my girl is on a Kawasaki]. It's a short, high-energy track that feels like a stream of consciousness from someone who knows she's on top of the world and is having a great time with it.

Sexo, Violencia Y Llantas (Sex, Violence And Tires)
Quién pudiera vivir entre los dos
Primero amaré el mundo
Y luego amaré a Dios
Quién pudiera vivir entre los dos
If only I could live between the two
First I'll love the world
And then I'll love God
If only I could live between the two

Spanish superstar ROSALÍA sets up a direct clash between earthly chaos and spiritual peace in "Sexo, Violencia Y Llantas". Instead of choosing between holiness and temptation, she wishes she could move freely between both realms: "Quién pudiera venir de esta tierra / Entrar en el cielo / Y volver a la tierra" ("Who could come from this earth / Enter into heaven / And return back to earth"). She decides her priority right away with "Primero amaré el mundo / Y luego amaré a Dios" ("First I will love the world / And then I will love God").

Her descriptions of each world are blunt and stark. The physical world brings "Sexo, violencia y llantas / Deportes de sangre / Monedas en gargantas" ("Sex, violence and car tires / Blood sports / Coins in throats"). Here, "llantas" literally refers to wheel rims or car tires, setting an aggressive, street-level scene alongside greed and brutality. In contrast, the celestial side offers "Destellos, palomas y santas" ("Flashes of light, doves and female saints") and "el beso de la balanza" ("the kiss of the scale" / the touch of divine justice). She wants the rush of worldly grit first, leaving the pure and holy realm for later.

MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) (Slecht (Hoofdstuk 1: Voorteken))
Ese cristalito roto
Yo sentí como crujía
Antes de caerse al suelo
Ya sabía que se rompía
Dat gebroken glaasje
Ik voelde hoe het kraakte
Voordat het op de grond viel
Ik wist al dat het zou breken

Vanaf de allereerste seconde voel je het al: dit loopt fout af. In MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) van de Spaanse zangeres ROSALÍA draait alles om slechte voortekenen (het Spaanse woord augurio betekent letterlijk 'voorteken'). Ze hoort glas kraken nog vóór het valt: "Ese cristalito roto / Yo sentí como crujía" (Dat gebroken stukje glas, ik voelde hoe het kraakte). De lichten flikkeren op de overloop, een waarzegster waarschuwt haar om binnen te blijven, en ze droomt over een wankelende brug. Het woord malamente betekent 'slecht' of 'op een kwalijke manier', en het blijft zich genadeloos in je hoofd herhalen.

Toch blijft ze niet bang onder de dekens liggen. Ze trotseert de onheilspellende nacht ("la noche undivé", waarbij undivé een leenwoord uit het Caló-Romani is voor 'God' of 'Gods nacht'). Ze trekt haar gouden ringen aan ("los aros"), hangt koraal om haar nek tegen het boze oog, en stapt gewoon naar buiten. Ze weigert haar tijd nog te verspillen aan die ene persoon: "No voy a perder ni un minuto en volver a pensarte" (Ik ga geen minuut meer verspillen aan weer aan jou denken). Een heerlijke mix van Spaanse flamenco-invloeden en moderne urban beats!

PROMESA (PROMISE)
Cumpliré mi promesa
La que te dije aquel día
La noche despejada, no llovía
Tus ojos robaron el agua del mar
I will fulfill my promise
The one that I made you that day
The night was clear, it didn't rain
Your eyes stole the water from the sea

PROMESA is a joyful, romantic track where ROSALÍA and Rauw Alejandro exchange sweet and quirky vows about sticking together through thick and thin. The singers remember a clear night without rain, where a solemn promise was made: “Una promesa nunca es pa' mirar atrás” ("A promise is never meant for looking back"). They lean into the idea that gut feelings beat logic every time, confessing that “pesa más el corazón que la razón” ("the heart carries more weight than reason"). Even if one of them slips away like a pearl dropping to the bottom of the ocean (“como una perla que volvió al fondo del mar”), they are confident they will find each other again.

What makes the track so charming is its list of specific, everyday daydreams. They want to eat cherries together, climb mountains, and jump into the water naked. Rauw even drops casual Spanish idioms like “comerte la cara” (literally "to eat your face," which is a playful way to say giving someone lots of passionate kisses) and “tener plata” (using Latin American slang for "having money"). From building a wooden chair with bare hands to pouring out a hundred bottles just to laugh, the song turns a grand pledge of devotion into a fun, down-to-earth adventure.

Magnolias
Dicen que si vieras pasar
A tu lado la muerte
En la Mercedes la que es alargada
Te da buena suerte
They say that if you were to saw pass by
Death at your side
In the elongated Mercedes
It brings you luck

Spanish artist ROSALÍA turns a funeral into an electric, high-octane block party in "Magnolias." Instead of quiet weeping, she imagines her send-off with a stretched limousine hearse ("la Mercedes la que es alargada" [the Mercedes that is elongated]), cigars, red wine, chocolate, and motorbikes doing burnouts ("KTMs quemando rueda" [KTMs burning rubber]) right by the casket. Even her rivals show up to mourn: "Todos habéis venido / Hasta mis enemigos / Hoy lloran" (Everyone has come / Even my enemies / Today they cry). It is a dramatic, celebratory scene where she asks her loved ones to dance on top of her body and shower her in magnolia flowers and brown sugar.

There is also a sweet, peaceful core beneath all the revving engines and luxury. She looks back on getting hurt in the past ("Algún que otro navajazo me he llevado de la vida" [Life has given me a stab wound or two]), but she thanks life for disarming her anyway. As she imagines ascending to meet God halfway ("Dios desciende y yo asciendo / Nos encontramos en el medio"), she asks those left behind to protect her reputation and stay awake celebrating until dawn. She bows out believing she came from the stars, returning to dust just to rejoin them in the sky.

La Yugular (The Jugular)
¿Cuántas peleas recuerdan
Las líneas de mis manos?
¿Cuántas historias caben
Metidas en 21 gramos?
How many fights are remembered
By the lines in my hands?
How many stories fit
Packed into twenty-one grams?

"La Yugular" opens with a question: how many fights live in the lines of your palm, how many stories fit into twenty-one grams? Then it turns straight to the person she's singing to, calling them "Tú que estas lejos / Y a la vez más cerca" [You who are far away / Yet somehow closer] than her own jugular vein, which is the whole song in one image: someone absent who still sits closer than a vessel under your own skin. A few lines later the same devotion gets sung in Arabic, tearing down heaven and hell for this person, no vows attached.

The middle stretch turns into a spiraling chant of nesting scales: "Yo quepo en el mundo / Y el mundo cabe en mí" [I fit inside the world / And the world fits in me]. It keeps zooming down, a country into a splinter, a splinter into a whole galaxy, a glass of milk swallowing an army, until "El Titanic cabe en un pintalabios" [The Titanic fits inside a lipstick] and finally God fits inside her chest. The last minute drops Spanish for a spoken English outro counting heavens, closing on "Break on through the other side" [Break on through the other side] and "A million doors aren't enough" [A million doors aren't enough], which after that build of impossible scales lands like the only sane conclusion.

LLYLM
El que quiero, no me quiere
Como quiero que me quiera
Hoy termina la condena
Me divierte
The one I want doesn't want me
How I want that he loves me
Today the sentence ends
It amuses me

Have you ever been so tired of a crush not liking you back that you just decide to have some fun? That's the energy of this song. ROSALÍA starts by saying, "El que quiero, no me quiere / Como quiero que me quiera" (The one I want doesn't want me / The way I want him to want me), but she's over it. She decides, "Hoy termina la condena" (Today the sentence ends), and finds a new person for a night of make-believe. The setting is key: "hoy es carnaval" (today is carnival), a time for masks and fantasy. She's not looking for a real, honest connection. In fact, she asks for the opposite.

The whole chorus is this amazing, direct request: "I don't need honesty / Baby, lie like you love me." She wants a beautiful performance, a dream to get lost in with someone new. She's totally in control, showing up on a motorcycle and saying, "Vengo en moto, soy una mami" (I'm coming on a motorcycle, I'm a 'mami'). But even in this world of fantasy, she wants a small piece of proof that the night happened. She asks for a flower bracelet to be her "tótem" (totem), so when she wakes up, she'll know it was real, at least for a moment. It's a hope that maybe, just maybe, the fantasy could *"become real enough for me."

CUUUUuuuuuute
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen
Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one
One, one, one, one
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen
Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one
One, one, one, one

ROSALÍA kicks off this song with a simple count-up before hitting us with one of her best lines: some people think they're special, "como un año en miami que nieva" (like a year it snows in Miami). It's a funny and sharp way to talk about people with big egos. The song's main idea is a call for humility, telling everyone to "Keep it cute, 'manito, keep it cute / Que aquí el mejor artista es dios" (Keep it cute, bro, keep it cute / Because here the best artist is God). She suggests we should look for beauty in the world around us, like "mariposas sueltas por la calle" (butterflies loose in the street), instead of focusing on ourselves.

Then the song takes a surprising turn. After repeating the NATO phonetic alphabet ("A de alfa / B de brava / C de charlie"), she drops a reference to "Crashed, lady d"—Princess Diana—and a plea to be taken far away. It's a sudden shift into a darker, more personal space that feels like a stream of consciousness. This contrast between the confident, philosophical advice and the vulnerable plea for escape at the end makes the song really interesting.

DESPECHÁ (SPITEFUL)
Baby, no me llames
Que yo estoy ocupada olvidando tus males
Ya decidí que esta noche se sale
Con todas mis motomamis, con todas mis yales
Baby, don't call me
Because I'm busy forgetting the harm you caused
I've already decided that we're going out tonight
With all my motomamis, with all my girls

Spanish singer ROSALÍA turns post-breakup bitterness into pure dancefloor fuel in "DESPECHÁ". The title comes from the word despecho, which describes the sting, spite, and wounded pride you feel after someone does you wrong. Instead of staying home to cry, she lays down the law right away: "Baby, no me llames / Que yo estoy ocupada olvidando tus males" ("Baby, don't call me / Because I'm busy forgetting your bad deeds"). She grabs her hoop earrings, chains, and a piña colada to hit the club with her "motomamis" (her crew of tough, confident women) and her "yales" (slang for girls or women).

She keeps the message as simple as child's play: "A, b, c, one, two, three / Mira qué fácil te lo voy a decir / Que esta motomami ya no está para ti" ("Look how easily I'm going to tell you / That this motomami is no longer available for you"). She gives a quick shout-out to Dominican music legend Fefita La Grande with "Estoy con la FeFa, ella es la jefa" ("I'm with Fefa, she is the boss"), ditching work and fame for a wild night of mambo. By the end, she is driving at full speed like a racer ("soy racineta"), warning her ex that if he blinks, she will zoom right past him on the right.

Con Altura (With Style)
Esto vamos a arrancarlo con altura
El dembow lo canto con hondura
Dicen una estrella, una figura
De Héctor aprendí la sabrosura
We're going to start this with style
I sing the dembow with depth
They say I'm a star, a figure
From Héctor I learned the flavor

"Con Altura" is pure high-altitude swagger with a driving reggaeton rhythm. ROSALÍA kicks things off by bragging about doing everything con altura (with class, or at a high level) and singing over the dembow beat with depth. Right away, she mixes modern luxury with Spanish tradition. She sings about placing roses on a Porsche ("Pongo rosas sobre el Panamera") while keeping flamenco legend Camarón de la Isla on the glove compartment playlist ("Llevo a Camarón en la guantera"). She even tips her hat to salsa giant Héctor Lavoe, saying she learned her flavor directly from him ("De Héctor aprendí la sabrosura").

The chorus is wonderfully dramatic about partying non-stop. ROSALÍA claims she has had too many wild nights ("Demasia' noches de travesura") and lives at a speed that has no cure ("Vivo rápido y no tengo cura"), half-joking that it will send her to an early grave ("Iré joven pa' la sepultura"). When J Balvin jumps in, he warns you that the winds are intense up at this altitude, so you better buckle up ("Ponte el cinturón y coge asiento"). It is loud, boastful, and built completely around the joy of flying high.

La Perla (La Perle)
Hola, ladrón de paz
Campo de minas para mi sensibilidad
Playboy, un campeón
Gasta el dinero que tiene y también el que no
Salut, voleur de paix
Champ de mines pour ma sensibilité
Playboy, un champion
Il dépense l'argent qu'il a et aussi celui qu'il n'a pas

Attention les yeux, ROSALÍA s'associe à Yahritza Y Su Esencia pour dresser le portrait au vitriol d'un manipulateur de compétition ! Le titre ironise dès le refrain : ce type est qualifié de perla (« perle »), mais l'expression espagnole una joya ou una perla de mucho cuidado s'utilise au second degré pour désigner quelqu'un dont il faut absolument se méfier. Le texte enchaîne les piques directes : c'est un ladrón de paz (« voleur de paix »), un flambeur qui dépense de l'argent qu'il ne possède même pas, et un menteur invétéré qui va chez le psy sans que cela ne serve à rien car il ment plus vite qu'il ne parle.

Ce que j'adore ici, c'est l'humour cinglant des expressions du quotidien. ROSALÍA le traite de rey de la trece catorce : en espagnol, l'expression hacer la trece-catorce signifie embrouiller, arnaquer ou jouer un mauvais tour à quelqu'un. Entre le squatteur qui vive en casa ajena (« vit chez les autres »), l'ego démesuré qui accuse son propre doppelgänger pour fuir ses torts, et la collection de trophées intimes résumée en colección de bras (« collection de soutiens-gorge »), ce morceau démonte point par point ce qu'elles appellent sans détour une red flag andante (« un signal d'alarme sur pattes »).

Yo X Ti, Tu X Mi (Me For You, You For Me)
Yo por ti, tú por mí, yo por ti, tú por mí
Yo por ti, tú por mí
Yo por ti, tú por mí, yo por ti, tú por mí
Yo por ti, tú por mí
I for you, you for me, I for you, you for me
I for you, you for me
I for you, you for me, I for you, you for me
I for you, you for me

"Yo X Ti, Tu X Mi" is all about total, ride-or-die loyalty. The title repeats like a mantra: "Yo por ti, tú por mí" [I'm there for you, you're there for me]. ROSALÍA, the superstar from Spain, teams up with Puerto Rican singer Ozuna to play two big-time artists in an unstoppable pact. Right away, she flexes with jewelry and cash: "Colgando del cuello los juguete' / Rodeá' de flores y billete'" [Toys hanging from my neck, surrounded by flowers and bills]. Here, "juguete'" [toys] is street slang for flashy luxury chains and watches. She warns anyone who might step in their way with a blunt "'bang-bang' si con nosotros te entrometes" ['bang-bang' if you mess with us], betting everything on their bond and even daring them to lock her up: "que me pongan los grillete'" [let them put the shackles on me] if she falls.

What makes the track stick is how they compare themselves to old-school greats: "Somos dos cantantes como los de antes" [We are two singers like the ones from back in the day]. Instead of empty sweet-talk, they measure respect in sold-out stadium tickets and diamonds ("El respeto en boletos y diamantes"). Ozuna jumps in, admitting that his heart literally skips a beat ("se me para el cora'") just looking at her, ready to spend every dime he owns simply to watch her eyes light up. They sound thrilled that this exact groove can blow up from global stages all the way to a random street corner ("Que hasta en la esquina esta canção sonaría"). It is loud, wealthy, and completely dedicated to keeping each other safe.

MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) (ŹLE (Rozdz.1: Przepowiednia))
Ese cristalito roto
Yo sentí como crujía
Antes de caerse al suelo
Ya sabía que se rompía
To rozbite szkiełko
Czułam, jak pękało
Zanim spadło na ziemię
Już wiedziałam, że się rozbije

„MALAMENTE” to utwór, w którym ROSALÍA buduje gęsty klimat pełen złych znaków i przeczucia, że zaraz wydarzy się coś niedobrego. Tekst otwiera obraz pękającego szkła: „Ese cristalito roto / Yo sentí como crujía” („Ten mały kawałek szkła, czułam jak trzeszczy”). Bohaterka wiedziała, co się święci, zanim szkło w ogóle dotknęło ziemi. Napięcie rośnie z każdym wersem: migające światło na klatce, kroki na korytarzu i ostrzeżenie od wróżki („Me lo dijo esa gitana” – „Powiedziała mi to tamta Cyganka”). Pojawia się też sen o chwiejącym się moście, który traci stabilność dokładnie wtedy, gdy próbujesz przez niego przejść.

Mimo tych wszystkich ostrzeżeń bohaterka decyduje się wyjść w noc. ROSALÍA używa tu romskiego słowa na Boga („undivé”), prosząc o ochronę i światło, a na dłonie zakłada błyszczące pierścienie i koralowce („los corales”). Zamiast uciekać przed kłopotami, idzie przed siebie z jasną deklaracją: „No voy a perder ni un minuto en volver a pensarte” („Nie stracę ani minuty, by znowu o tobie myśleć”). Tytułowe „Malamente” (po prostu: „źle”, „opacznie”) powraca jak zaklęcie, wbijając w głowę myśl, że czasem widzimy katastrofę z daleka, a i tak robimy krok naprzód.

MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) (MALAMENTE (Chap.1: Augure))
Ese cristalito roto
Yo sentí como crujía
Antes de caerse al suelo
Ya sabía que se rompía
Ce petit verre brisé
J'ai senti comment il craquait
Avant de tomber par terre
Je savais déjà qu'il se brisait

Prépare-toi à plonger dans l'univers de ROSALÍA avec « MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio) » ! Cette chanson est le premier chapitre de son album El Mal Querer, et elle nous emmène directement dans une ambiance mystérieuse et un peu sombre. Dès le début, on sent que quelque chose ne va pas avec des images comme « Ese cristalito roto, Yo sentí como crujía » [Ce petit verre cassé, j'ai senti comment il craquait]. C'est comme un mauvais pressentiment, une intuition que quelque chose de difficile va arriver, même si ce n'est pas encore là.

La chanson parle de ces signes avant-coureurs, ces « augures » qui nous avertissent. ROSALÍA mentionne une gitane qui lui a dit « Mejor no salir a verla » [Mieux vaut ne pas sortir la voir], ce qui renforce l'idée d'un danger imminent. Malgré tout, elle décide de faire face à ce qui l'attend, avec ses bijoux brillants comme une protection : « En la manita los aros brillando, en mi piel los corales » [Dans ma petite main les anneaux brillants, sur ma peau les coraux]. C'est une chanson pleine de tension, où l'on sent la lutte entre la peur et la détermination. C'est ça, « Malamente » : ce sentiment que les choses tournent mal, mais aussi la force de les affronter.

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