This is a classic 'false friend' that often tricks English speakers! While it looks like the word 'pretend', pretendes actually means 'you intend' or 'what are you trying to achieve?'.
It's the key word in the song's title and fiery chorus, where J Balvin confronts his ex: "¿Qué pretendes tú llamándome a esta hora?" (What do you intend, calling me at this hour?). Learning this word is essential to understanding the song's defiant and dismissive attitude.
Ever had an ex call you late at night trying to get back together? That's exactly what's happening in this song. J Balvin and Bad Bunny team up for a reggaeton anthem about telling an ex that it's completely over. The song's title asks the big question: "¿Qué pretendes tú llamándome a esta hora?" [What are you trying to do, calling me at this hour?]. The singer knows all their ex's tricks, saying "Esa actitud la conozco ya" [I already know that attitude], but makes it clear that this time, it's not going to work. It's too late.
Bad Bunny's verse is especially blunt about how finished the relationship is. He says he's blocked her on every social media platform and, most importantly, "de mi vida te borré" [I deleted you from my life]. He's moved on and warns her that she's going to be jealous when "Me vas a ver con otra y te vas a morder" [You're going to see me with someone else and you're going to bite yourself]. The message is simple: the door is closed, locked, and the key has been thrown away.
J Balvin grew up in Medellín playing guitar in a teenage rock band with Nirvana and Metallica on repeat, and spent part of his teens in Oklahoma and New York picking up English. Born José Álvaro Osorio Balvín in 1985, he had been releasing music in Colombia for about a decade before anyone outside it paid attention.
"6 AM" with Farruko changed that in 2014, and "Ay Vamos" and "Ginza" followed: "Ginza" held number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart for 22 weeks, a record at the time. He kept singing in Spanish anyway, and "Mi Gente" reached number three on the Hot 100 once Beyoncé joined the remix, before "I Like It" with Cardi B and Bad Bunny went to number one in 2018. His albums run La Familia, Energía, Vibras, Colores (every track named after a color, and a Latin Grammy for best urban album), José and Rayo, plus Oasis, a joint record with Bad Bunny. In August 2019 he became the first Latino artist to headline Lollapalooza in Chicago.