Internacionales Lyrics in English by Bomba Estéreo

Mezclados means "mixed." It's a word that perfectly captures the joyful, unifying spirit of this song.

Bomba Estéreo uses it to celebrate the beautiful blend of cultures, races, and histories from around the world. The opening line, "Mezclados, somos mezclados" (Mixed, we are mixed), proudly declares a shared identity built from diversity. It’s a powerful concept that frames our mixed backgrounds as a source of strength and celebration.

"Internacionales" by Colombia's Bomba Estéreo kicks borders out of the window and pulls everybody straight onto the dance floor. The singer opens by celebrating our mixed backgrounds: "Mezclados, somos mezclados / La misma historia con otro sabor" ("Mixed, we are mixed / The same story with another flavor"). Instead of dividing people by where they were born, she rattles off nationalities: "Yo soy un colombiano / Yo soy americano / Yo soy un ciudadano del mundo" ("I am Colombian / I am American / I am a citizen of the world"), tossing in Mexican and Dominican right after. Her main point is delightfully blunt: under our skin, we all share the exact same blood and roots, so why build walls?

My favorite moment in the track is a brilliant reminder for any language learner: "¡Baila, baila! / Que para bailar no necesitas lengua" ("Dance, dance! / Because to dance you don't need a language"). In Spanish, lengua literally translates to tongue, but here it means spoken language. She is telling you to drop your self-consciousness. Even if we come from different places, "a la vez somos iguales / En la misma situación en distintos lugares" ("at the same time we are the same / In the same situation in different places"). Put the vocabulary drill on pause for three minutes, blast this beat, and let your body do the talking.