ALL TOGETHER NOW: DESPACITO
Here’s the lowdown on the catchiest song of the year
DES . . . pa . . . cito! Hands up how many of you have woken up with this earworm buzzing about your brain – even if you can’t quite get your head around the rest of the rapid Latin lyrics. The ridiculously addictive Spanish song has had everyone from Puerto Rico to Port Elizabeth dancing and singing along after it exploded onto the pop scene and became this year’s hottest hit, breaking records left, right and centre.
Not only has Despacito catapulted singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee to superstardom, it’s changed the fortunes of the folk who live in the former don’t-go-there slum where the music video was filmed. One hit song and – voila! – the place is booming.
“It’s such an honour,” Luis says. “The whole world is singing in Spanish. We have everybody googling, ‘ What does despacito mean?’”
It means “slowly”, in case you’ve been living under a rock, and the lyrics are charged with none-too-subtle sexual innuendo.
But it’s feel-good fun all the way – no Spanish-language song has achieved such crossover success since Los Del Rio’s Macarena in 1996.
“It’s amazing, especially given the times we’re living in,” Luis says. “It feels as if we’re in a divided world with politics, but when you hear Despacito and you see someone who doesn’t speak Spanish trying to get the words right . . . it shows the power of music.
“We’re breaking down barriers – I think that’s the biggest win out of all of this.”
CHANGING LIVES
The video for the song’s original version was shot in La Perla, a barrio or slum area of around 1 600 people situated between Old San Juan in Puerto Rico and the sea.
Previously a place outsiders avoided due to its reputation as a haven for drug-trafficking, it’s now become a tourist hotspot, with people looking for the “Despacito experience” and to check out the locations where the video was filmed – such as the rocks facing the sea where Luis sings the refrain, and the sea wall where Zuleyka Rivera, a Puerto Rican model, actress and former Miss Universe, strolls.
“I totally came for the tourist video,” says Jennifer Adams, a 28-year-old teacher from the US. “I’ve seen the music video many times and I knew where I needed to go. I got pictures; I tried to dance.”
The song’s success is a blessing that fell from the sky, says Yashira Gomez, the local community board president. “It will bring much-needed money to improve the area.”
THE GUYS BEHIND THE HIT
Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero – aka Luis Fonsi – is the brains behind the song.
The 39-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter has emerged as one of the biggest names in Latin pop over the past 20 years, with eight albums behind him as well as a Latin Grammy to his name.
He’s worked with many big names (he did a duet with Christina Aguilera on her