La Corriente Lyrics in English by Bad Bunny, Tony Dize
Pichear is a popular Puerto Rican slang verb meaning "to ignore" or "to brush someone off." It's a fantastic example of Spanglish, as it's believed to come from the English baseball term "to pitch," as in pitching something away from you.
In the song, Bad Bunny says the woman "siempre pichea', menos si el perreo llama" (she always ignores everyone, unless the 'perreo' calls). This word perfectly captures her cool, untouchable attitude and is key to understanding the modern, slang-filled language of reggaetón.
"La Corriente" pairs Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny with veteran reggaeton singer Tony Dize, and it revolves around complete fascination with a woman who refuses to play by anyone else's rules. While most people try to swim with the tide, she is "viviendo la vida loca, siempre en contra de la corriente" [living the crazy life, always against the current]. Bad Bunny is so hooked that he flips the metaphor: "Si tú fueras una ola, pues que me lleve la corriente" [If you were a wave, then let the current sweep me away]. She is pushing thirty ("va para treinta"), knows exactly what she wants, and does not need a man to validate her. When Tony sings "No te vivas la película, que ella es la película y de las que no se renta" [Don't act like you're in a movie, because she IS the movie, and one of the kind that isn't for rent], he means she is completely out of reach for pretenders.
To really get the track, you need to understand the Puerto Rican slang they toss around. Bad Bunny notes that she "siempre pichea', menos si el perreo llama" [always ignores everyone, unless the perreo calls]. The verb pichear comes from baseball (to pitch), but in Puerto Rico, it means to brush someone off or ignore them. She ghosts everyone until the party starts. He also drops witty lines like asking her to "seas mi teacher" [be my teacher] and calls her "una bitch, una pitcher", using English loanwords to highlight her control. Later, he mentions she is called "La parce" because she acts like a Colombian (parce is common Colombian slang for pal or friend). She goes out late without being seen, stays out with no curfew ("sin hora de llegada"), and would rather sleep alone than get dragged into messy drama ("antes de enfangarse, prefiere a solas acostarse"). It is a party track built around admiring a woman who answers to nobody.
