Sospechaba means "I suspected" and is the imperfect past tense of the verb sospechar.
Frankie Ruiz sings, "sospechaba terminar así" (I suspected it would end like this), realizing he was merely a rebound used to make another man jealous. This makes it a fantastic word for learners to see how the imperfect tense is used to describe a lingering intuition or ongoing feeling in the past.
This song is a classic salsa story of a love affair gone wrong, but with a twist. Frankie Ruiz isn't just singing about a breakup; he's singing about realizing he was just a pawn in someone else's game. He starts by talking to his ex, who he knows is happy with another man now: "Seguro mujer que hoy eres feliz" (Surely, woman, you are happy today). He's stuck waiting for her, but she's moved on: "El tiempo corre, yo te espero pero tú con él" (Time runs, I wait for you, but you're with him).
Then comes the painful realization. He figures out he was only used to make her old boyfriend jealous. As he puts it, "Yo solamente fui la excusa para hacerle ver / Que tú podías si querías vivir sin su amor" (I was just the excuse to make him see / That you could, if you wanted, live without his love). The problem? He wasn't playing. He confesses, "No me di cuenta de ese juego y me enamoré" (I didn't realize the game and I fell in love). He fell hard, and now he's left to deal with the consequences of a game he didn't even know he was playing.
Frankie Ruiz (born José Antonio Torresola Ruiz; March 10, 1958 to August 9, 1998) was a Puerto Rican American salsa singer celebrated as El Papá de la Salsa. Originating from Paterson, New Jersey, Ruiz rose to prominence in the 1980s as a leading voice of salsa romántica, a subgenre that blended romantic lyrics with vibrant salsa rhythms.
His solo debut Solista pero no solo launched several hits, including the classic La Cura, earning him widespread acclaim in Latin America, the United States, and Spain. Despite personal struggles with addiction, Ruiz's passionate vocals and energetic performances left an indelible mark on salsa music, influencing generations of salseros and fans alike. His legacy continues to resonate as a symbol of salsa's emotional depth and cultural richness.