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.
Puerto Rican merengue singer Elvis Crespo has one obsession here: he wants to be kissed, and he wants it now. The entire track runs on this single-minded plea for soft, sweet affection. He sings "Suavemente, bĂ©same / Que quiero sentir tus labios" ("Smoothly, kiss me / Because I want to feel your lips"), demanding love without any rush. When the kiss happens, he describes feeling like he is floating: "Cuando tĂș me besas / Me siento en el aire" ("When you kiss me / I feel up in the air"). If the other person pulls away, the spell breaks, and he feels like he is waking up from a dream.
He is completely trapped by the feeling, admitting "Trato de escaparme / Y me siento preso" ("I try to escape / And I feel imprisoned"). There is also a great bit of playful rhythm when he asks for "un ratito" (a little while), showing how Spanish uses the diminutive -ito ending to make a request sound softer and more affectionate. He asks for a kiss so deep that it reaches his soulâ"Que me llegue al alma" ("That reaches my soul")âand bluntly tells his partner that there is plenty of room for more with "Dame un beso mĂĄs / Que en mi boca cabe" ("Give me one more kiss / Because it fits in my mouth"). It is bold, incredibly direct, and packed with pure merengue joy.
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.