36 The beginning of the reggaeton industry

Daddy Yankee

The role of fiesta (party) en la cultura latina es parte de su identidad en especial para el mundo caribeño. En relaciones románticas, el hombre y la mujer valoran la energía de su pareja en la vida social. That’s “The gasolina” (the fuel, 2003), the energy the woman puts into going to party. “La gasolina” was the first reggaeton hit in the United States, thanks to the work of the boricua singer Daddy Yankee, who took reggaeton to the global level. What the segment 0:30-0:50 for el coro:

Daddy Yankee – Gasolina (Video Oficial).

A ella le gusta la gasolina
To her likes the fuel (she likes the fuel)
Dame más gasolina! 
Give me more fuel!
Cómo le encanta la gasolina
How (to) her really likes the fuel (she really likes the fuel)
Dame más gasolina!
Give me more fuel

Right next to that segment you’ll hear to the following verbs in the present indicative:

• Prende (=lights, turns on), infinitive prender
• Discriminina (=discriminates), infinitive discriminar
• Acicala (=gets ready in PR slang), infinitive acicalar
• Luce (=looks, boasts), infinitive lucir
• Asesina (=assassinates, kills), infinitive asesinar
• Domina (=dominates), infinitive dominar
• Janguea (=hangs out), infinitive janguear (from English hang out)
• Llena (=fills), infinitive llenar
• Escucha (=listens), infinitive escuchar

Ella prende las turbinas, no discrimina
She turns on the turbines, doesn’t discriminate
No se pierde ni un party de marquesina
(She) doesn’t miss a party of marquee
Se acicala hasta pa(ra) la esquina
(She) dresses up even (to go) around the corner
Luce (=lucir) tan bien que hasta la sombra le combina
(She) looks so well that even the shadow (to) her combinates
Asesina, me domina
(She) kills, (she) (to) me dominates
Janguea en carros, motoras y limosinas
(She) hangs out in cars, motorcycles, and limousines
Llena su tanque de adrenalina
(She) fills her tank of adrenaline
Cuando escucha reggaeton en la cocina
When (she) hears reggaetón in the kitchen

Songwriters: Francisco Saldana, Victor Cabrera, Ramon Ayala. For non-commercial use only. Adapted from Musixmatch, powered Microsoft Bing.

Next is a summary of important songs in pre-industry and early-industry reggaetón:

La identidad caribeña es un tema importante de las letras en canciones de reggaetón. La canción “Oye mi canto” (=Hear my song) by Daddy Yankee menciona las nacionalidades caribeñas and also the word morena to take pride in being the suntan Caribbean singer. Daddy Yankee mixes español con inglés como una aceptación de la identidad Anglo combinada con la herencia hispánica.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWHxSi34F98

Oye Mi Canto – Daddy Yankee Ft. N.O.R.E, Nina Sky, Big Mato (Official Video) by Daddy Yankee VEVO.

Boricua (ha), morena (ha), dominicano (ha), colombiano (ha)
Boricua (ha), morena (ha), cubano (ha), mexicano (ha) 

Oye mi canto (Hear my song)

In Caribbean Spanish, the sound S may turn into something like the English /h/ or just get deleted entirely. This happens only at the end of a word, or when after the S follows a separate consonant. In other words, the deletion of S happens at the end of a syllable. That’s the reason why Daddy Yankee sings “A ella le guHta la gasolina” saying “guhta” like S turned into an English H. He also says “Ella prende lah turbinah, no dihcrimina”.

The English word “hang out” has been copied into Spanish as “janguear”, pronounced /hangeár/. It means to spend the time doing nothing especial, probably partying or talking to friends. A “jangueo” thus is a friend gathering, and you can even conjugate it:

• Yo jangueo
• Tú jangueas
• Él / ella janguea
• Nosotros / nosotras jangueamos
• Ellos / ellas janguean

Wisin y Yandell

They were a hiphop reggaetón dueto who were doing reggaetón since the 1990’s, yet they were able to gain further recognition after Daddy Yankee opened the industry towards the United States.

Wisin y Yandel-Hola uploaded by nessa89250 in 2006.

The beginning of the video shows a woman finding her man in romantic gestures with another one. She asks: “¿Qué significa esto?”. He goes after her calling her name: “¡Laura!”. Then he pretends being on a phone call and probably leaving a voice message apologizing to her.

Some expressions:

• Hola, ¿cómo estás?=Hello, how are you?
• Necesito oír tu voz= I need to hear your voice
• Yo sé=I know
• Te da igual=It gives you the same, idiom. You don’t care; me da igual=It gives me the same, I don’t care
• Tú eres la que=you are the-one (=fem) that
• No aguanto un día más=I don’t bear it a day more
• Perdóname= The word perdón (=pardon) becomes a verb perdonar, then it turns into an informal command perdona with a pronoun added at the end: perdona + me=perdóname.

¡Laura!
Hola, ¿cómo estas? Solo necesito oír tu voz un día más
Hello, how are (you)? Just (I) need to hear your voice one day more
Ya yo sé que te da igual, que sin mí puedes estar
lready/Now I know that (it) gives you the same, that without me (you) can be
Ya no aguanto un día más, perdóname
Already/Now (I) don’t stand it one day more. Forgive me.
Tú eres la que me domina, eres la que me da vida
You are the one that dominates me, (You) are the one who gives me life
Laberinto sin salida (Regresa por favor)
Labyrinth without way out (Come back please)
Vagabundo en las esquinas, tú, mi droga preferida
Vagabond in the corners, you, my preferred drug
Me ha dolido tu partida (Regresa por favor)
(To) me (it) has hurt me your departure (Come back please)

Songwriters: Llandel Veguilla Malave, Juan Luna, Vladimir Felix. For non-commercial use only. Adapted from Musixmatch, powered Microsoft Bing.

Yasuri Yamileth

Another song from 2006 was a temporary hit from Panamá with the voice of Katherine Severino and the model Marlene Morales who appears on the video. Esta canción was outside the industry with not much production, but became viral across Latin America. It’s about a Panamanian fictional young woman from a poor neighborhood who always carries the razor to defend herself. She uses the term “Gillete”  (the razor’s brand name) with English pronunciation to refer to her secret weapon. When she attacks, she cuts the face of the victim in the form of a Y so everybody remembers she’s Yasuri Yamileth.

YASURI YAMILET – La Gillete – VIDEO OFICIAL uploaded by P Sater.

• Ways to tell the name: Mi nombre es (=My name is), Ella es (She is)
• To mess up with someone: Te metes conmigo=You mess up with me, from verbo meter (=to get into, get involved) and pronoun te in the reflexive meaning: (you) get-yourself-involved with me. Te metes con ella=You mess up with her.
• Verbo gustar: le gusta el Frappe (=the Frappe pleases her, idiom. she likes the Frappé)
• First person versus third person present: te saco=(I) take-out (towards) you, te saca=(She) take-out (towards) you. From the infinitive sacar (=to take out), conjugated yo saco, ella saca.
• Prepositional pronouns: conmigo (=with me), con ella (=with her)
• Famous brands: Gillete, Frappé, Mercedes Benz

Mi nombre es Yasuri, Yasuri Yamileth
My name is Yasuri Yamileth
Yasuri Yamileth, Yasuri Yamileth
Mi nombre es Yasuri, Yasuri Yamileth
My name is Yasuri Yamileth
Te metes conmigo, te saco la Gillete
(You) mess up with me, (I) take out (to) you the Gillete (razor brand)
Te dejo una Ye, que no es de Yeye
(I) leave you a (mark with the shape of a) Y, that is not (intial) of Yeye
Sino de Yasuri, Yasuri Yamileth
But of Yasuri, Yasuri Yamileth.

Ella es Yasuri, Yasuri Yamileth
She is Yasuri, Yasuri Yamileth
Te metes con ella, te saca la Gillete
(You) mess up with her, (she) takes out (to) you the Gillete (razor brand)
Ella es un Yeye, le gusta el Frappe
She is a Yeye, (she) likes the Frappe
Y la discoteca es su Mercedes Benz
And the disco is her Mercedes Benz.

Most times words taken from English are pronounced as in English, that’s why when Severino sings “la Gillete”, she tries to approach a pronunciation as in English.

There’s a podcast in Spanish about el género urbano, another name for reggaetón:

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