Style: Electric pop, love song
Country: Mexico
Listen:
This is a song about two people from different ethnicities and backgrounds in love. It does not matter that they are different; they are in love! Listen to the live version or a pre-recorded version at YouTube.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Que tú prefieras los Beatles
Y yo Juan Gabriel,
No importa que sea otro el ritmo
Pero aquí es cuestion de piel.
That you prefer The Beatles [*old, famous British band]
And me, Juan Gabriel, [*old, famous Mexican ranchera singer]
No matter the different rhythm [*lit. No matter that the rhythm be another]
(But here) it's a matter of skin.
Yo vengo de los boleros
Y la serenata;
Tú vienes de rock and roll
Y de Frank Sinatra.
I come from the boleros [*Latin ballroom dance music]
And the serenade;
You come from rock and roll
And from Frank Sinatra. [*American jazz singer]
Tú la opera, el teatro, los tenores, la traviata.
Todo un gran ejecutivo: grandes noches y corbata
You the opera, the theater, the tenors, La Traviata [*an opera].
Completely the great executive: big nights and tie.
Yo Acapulco y el desmadre,
Los mariachis, las rancheras.
Nuestras vidas se cruzaron
Y somos almas gemelas.
Me, Acapulco and chaos, [*Tourist paradise in Mexico. Think palms, sunshine, and beaches.]
Mariachis, ranchera songs. [*for examples, see José Alfredo Jiménez]
Our lives crossed
And we are twin souls.
Acción y Reacción.
Qué cosas hace el amor.
No importa de donde vengas,
Cuando llegas hace explosion.
Action and Reaction.
What things love does.
Doesn't matter where you come from,
When you come, it's a blast. [*lit. When you come, there's an explosion.]
Y tú con tu Pavarotti,
Y yo con mi Ramazzotti.
La vida te da sorpresas
Y amar es lo que interesa.
And you with your Pavarotti, [*Italian opera tenor singer]
And me with my Ramazzotti. [*Italian soft rock, pop singer]
Life gives you surprises
And loving is what matters. [*lit. And loving is what is of interest.]
Tú viejas piden dormir
Y cenas en Wall Street;
Yo voy de tacos y copas
En mi coche y en blue jeans.
You, old ladies ask to bed
And you dine in Wall Street;
I go with tacos and (wine) glasses
In my car or in blue jeans.
Tú, las luces de Manhattan,
La sinfonica de Vienna,
La Gioconda, Miguel Angel
Y la Acropolis de Grecia.
You, the lights of Manhattan,
The symphony of Vienna
The Mona Lisa, Michelangelo,
And the Acropolis of Athens.
Yo, Rivera, Frida Kahlo,
Pancho Villa, La Frontera.
Nuestras vidas se cruzaron
Y somos almas gemelas.
Me, Rivera, Frida Kahlo, [*Early 20th century Mexican muralists]
Pancho Villa, The Border. [*General of Mexican Revolution; USA-Mexico border]
Our lives crossed
And we are twin souls.
Acción y Reacción.
Qué cosas hace el amor.
No importa de donde vengas,
Cuando llegas hace explosion.
Action and Reaction.
What things love does.
Doesn't matter where you're from,
When you come, it's a blast.
Acción y Reacción.
Qué cosas hace el amor.
Oh~
Action and Reaction.
What things love does.
Oh~
Acción y Reacción.
Yo diciendo canciones, amando la vida.
No importa de donde vengas.
Tú Bali, Hong Kong, Santa Fe y Filipinas.
Action and Reaction.
Me: singing songs, loving life.
Doesn't matter where you're from.
You: Bali, Hong Kong, Santa Fe and the Philipines.
Acción y Reacción.
De Miami pa' Brasil, California con Sevilla.
No importa de donde vengas,
Tus ilusiones y las mías.
Action and reaction
From Miami to Brazil, California with Seville.
Doesn't matter where you're from,
Your illusions and mine.
Acción y Reacción.
Qué cosas hace el amor.
No importa de donde vengas,
Cuando llegas hace explosion.
Action and Reaction.
What things love does.
Doesn't matter where you're from,
When you come, it's a blast.
Translation Notes:
I originally translated this song in 2004 and posted it in Geocities. Edited 2010 with some rewording and more notes and links. I went overboard with the links, but I figured it couldn't hurt.
Here are my 2004 notes:
1. Acapulco: Tourist paradise in Mexico. Think palms, sunshine, and beaches.
2. Diego Rivera is a Mexican political muralist.
3. Frida Kahlo is a Mexican painter and wife of Diego Rivera.
4. Pancho Villa is an indigenous Mexican revolutionary who led raids against both American and Mexican forces in the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century. He's a hero or a bandit, depending on where you get your history.
5. La Frontera is "The Border." It refers to the United States-Mexico border.
6. pa' is a shortening of para often heard in Mexican Spanish.