Bordar literally means "to embroider," the beautiful art of decorating fabric with a needle and thread. It's a word you won't find in most pop songs!
Juan Luis Guerra uses it in a stunningly poetic metaphor. He sings about wanting to be a fish so he can "bordar de corales tu cintura" (embroider your waist with corals), imagining a delicate and loving act of decorating her with the treasures of the sea. This unique use of the word transforms a simple caress into a work of art.
Dominican songwriter Juan Luis Guerra turns longing into pure underwater poetry in this bachata classic. The singer describes himself as utterly overwhelmed by love, confessing that his poor heart is "mutilado de esperanza y de razĂłn" ("mutilated of hope and reason") and strips down with impatience whenever he hears his partner's voice ("se desnuda de impaciencia ante tu voz"). Instead of acting completely rational, he lets his mind run wild with an obsessively romantic fantasy.
That fantasy gives us one of Latin music's most unforgettable images: "Quisiera ser un pez / Para tocar mi nariz en tu pecera" ("I would like to be a fish / To touch my nose to your fishbowl"). He dreams of blowing love bubbles everywhere ("hacer burbujas de amor por dondequiera") and decorating her waist with corals and hibiscus flowers ("bordar de cayenas tu cintura"). The Spanish idiom "pasar la noche en vela" means staying awake all night, and here he wants to spend it entirely "mojado en ti" ("soaked in you"). It is dreamy, poetic, and wonderfully unapologetic about how strange love can make anyone sound.
Juan Luis Guerra is a celebrated Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer known for his influential role in popularizing merengue and bachata music around the world. Born in Santo Domingo in 1957, he graduated from Berklee College of Music and has since crafted a distinctive style blending traditional Dominican rhythms with jazz, salsa, and Latin pop.
With a career spanning over four decades, Guerra has sold more than 15 million records globally and earned numerous accolades including 28 Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. His poetic lyrics and innovative fusion have made hits like "Ojalá Que Llueva Café" and "Bachata Rosa" timeless classics that continue to captivate audiences internationally.