Despacito is a song by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, not Justin Bieber
Here in Miami, it’s all about late nights, Latin flare, warm weather, and the song Despacito. I kid you not, the song, which is named after the Spanish word for "slowly," is everywhere: bars, restaurants, nightclubs, frat parties, house parties, dorm parties, Ubers, sporting events, the dining hall, everywhere. The song and music video are both very Latino, with sunny weather, street dancing, dense, colorful neighborhoods, and vibrant nightlife featured. The song and video take place in Puerto Rico, a Spanish-speaking American neo-colony (which is a whole different topic in and of itself) that continues to thrive culturally.
However, the song often heard is not the original version by Fonsi, but a similar sounding remix by the mega-famous Justin Bieber. The remix is in both English and Spanish, as supposed to the original which is completely en espanol. Besides not being the one who originally recorded it, Justin Bieber should not get the credit for having made the song because he simply is not the heart and soul of what the song is about, for better or worse.
Puerto Rico is rich culturally but poor economically, at least by first world standards. Ramon Luis Ayala Rodriguez, also known as Daddy Yankee, was featured in the original version alongside Luis Fonsi and experienced his fair share of hardship growing up. Gun violence in his homeland killed his baseball coach right in the middle of a game when he was only six, and he himself got shot while pursuing a professional baseball career. The Puerto Rican people deal with many economic hardships as well. However, they have an extremely vibrant culture, with music, food, drinks, dancing, and parties until sunrise. Justin Bieber is someone who, as a multi-millionaire, has never and probably will never face the struggles which face the people of Puerto Rico.
Bieber is somebody who would never understand or accept daily life in Puerto Rico, but you tell me that he has Puerto Rican in him because he can sing parts of a song that was originally recorded by a Puerto Rican artist!? Give me a break. Bieber’s version of the song is as Puerto Rican as my shower singing to Gangnam Style is Korean.
This is just a part of the problem. Justin Bieber has no appreciation of the Latin culture. He loves to party with expensive mojito bottles, he loves Latina girls, and I guess he likes certain Latin American food, but that puts an end to it. He doesn’t speak Spanish. Do you really think he would bother to learn a second language?
Then there was the incident at NYC’s 1 Oak nightclub. “Singing” the song, he has no clue what the words are in Spanish and starts going off on offensive tangents. “I don’t know the words so I say Paquito, Dorito, Burrito,” he sings. He goes on, “blah blah blah blah blah burrito! I ate a burrito!!!!” The worst part is that as he’s acting like a 13-year-old would at a middle school dance, he thinks he is behaving normally and expects the clubbers to get into it. No, thanks. These actions show the kind of person that Bieber really is.
In order to have that Puerto Rican and Latin flare in you, you have to go through the challenges that people there face every day; and then you can party all night if that is what you want to do. Justin Bieber may love to party like he is at the Brazilian Carnival, but other than that, he is in no way, shape, or form Latino. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are two musical artists who sing about the vibrant everyday life that Puerto Ricans live, and they sing Despacito, not Justin Bieber.