Anhelo comes from the verb anhelar, which means 'to long for' or 'to yearn for'. It's a much more poetic and intense way to express desire than the common word 'quiero' (I want).
In this classic merengue hit, Elvis Crespo sings, "Un beso suave es lo que anhelo" (A soft kiss is what I long for). He uses this beautiful word to show the depth of his craving for a tender kiss, elevating a simple wish into a profound yearning.
Get ready for one of the most famous Merengue songs ever! Puerto Rican singer Elvis Crespo has one simple, urgent request in "Suavemente": he wants a kiss. And he is very specific about it. He doesn't just ask once, he begs, "Suavemente, bésame / Que quiero sentir tus labios / Besåndome otra vez" (Softly, kiss me / Because I want to feel your lips / Kissing me again).
This isn't just any kiss. He wants one that's deep and soulful, "un beso bien profundo / Que me llegue al alma" (a very deep kiss / that reaches my soul). He describes how these kisses make him feel like he's floating, "Me siento en el aire" (I feel like I'm in the air), and how he feels like a prisoner to them, unable to escape. The whole song is a high-energy, joyful demand for affection, building and building on that one central idea: kiss me!
Elvis Crespo was named after Elvis Presley, born in New York City in 1971 and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He spent the mid-1990s singing with Grupo ManĂa, where he wrote "Linda Eh" for them, and left in 1997 to make his own record.
That record was Suavemente, and its title track held number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks for six weeks in 1998, only the second merengue song ever to top that chart. "Tu Sonrisa" went to number one after it, and the album has sold over four million copies. The follow-up, PĂntame, won the first Grammy for Best Merengue Performance in 2000, and SaborĂ©alo took the Latin Grammy for Best Merengue Album in 2005. He kept the pace up on Wow Flash! and RegresĂł el Jefe, and in 2016 his voice carried Deorro's merengue-house track "Bailar" to the top of the US Tropical chart.