Empolvado means 'dusty' or 'covered in dust'. It's derived from the noun polvo, which means 'dust'.
In this heartbreaking song, Prince Royce describes himself as a 'recuerdo empolvado' (a dusty memory), painting a vivid picture of feeling forgotten and left on a shelf. It's a beautifully sad and poetic word that captures the feeling of being a neglected part of someone's past.
Prince Royce kicks off this bachata track with a voicemail tone before sliding into a classic tale of getting completely demoted in someone's life. He describes how his lover used to be his safe haven, but now treats him like a mess of scattered puzzle pieces: "Tomas mi alegría y mi tristeza / Como tu rompecabezas" ("You take my joy and my sadness / Like your jigsaw puzzle"). He piles on the metaphors to show how useless he feels, calling himself an abandoned toy ("tu juguete ya guardado"), a dusty memory ("un recuerdo empolvado"), and a deleted text ("un mensaje borrado").
The biggest gut punch is the title line, where he realizes he went from being their soulmate to an ignored notification on a screen: "Fui el amor de tu vida y ahora soy / Una llamada perdida" ("I was the love of your life and now I am / A missed call"). You will also spot everyday spoken shortcuts like pa' ti, which is short for para ti ("for you"). It is a dramatic, bittersweet track about watching your relationship get treated like an old story with the pages torn out.