Gatuna is a fun and poetic adjective that literally means "feline" or "cat-like". It's the feminine form of gatuno.
In the song, Ricky Martin creates a vivid image by singing "sigue bailando la luna, luna gatuna" (the moon keeps dancing, the cat-like moon). This paints a picture of the moon being sly, agile, and mysterious as it moves across the night sky, just like a cat. It's a creative and memorable word that perfectly captures the playful, all-night party vibe of "La Bomba".
Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin invents a fantasy potion in this track and calls it la bomba. Right from the opening lines, he tells you it is a drink: Es una bebida que va cambiando tu vida ("It's a drink that changes your life"). But forget about an ordinary bar order. His recipe calls for agua de risa ("water of laughter"), drops of rose water, and a tasty olive, all served en lo caliente ("in the heat"). Just a drop turns someone loca divertida ("fun-crazy"), and the whole track runs on that silly, dizzy energy. He watches his partner get completely tipsy on this imaginary cocktail (Emborrachadita de la bomba estás—"You're a little drunk on la bomba"), cheering her on with pet names like cosa linda, cosa mona ("pretty thing, cute thing").
The dance floor turns chaotic fast. Martin commands full body turns (Dando media vuelta, otra vuelta más—"Turning halfway around, another turn more") while begging for more action on every street corner. Things get so sweaty and wild that clothes go flying: Sale volando la ropa ("The clothes fly off"). He even calls the night sky a luna gatuna ("cat-like moon"), giving the whole party a sneaky, prowling vibe. It is completely over the top, totally infectious, and purely about drinking up good energy until you are hopelessly swept away in love and rhythm.
Ricky Martin was turned down by Menudo twice for being too short. The third audition worked, and in 1984 Enrique Martín Morales joined the Puerto Rican boy band at twelve, staying past his age-mandated retirement until July 1989. Two solo ballad albums followed, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amarás (1993), before he changed direction.
A Medio Vivir (1995) carried "María", his first hit well beyond Latin America, and Vuelve (1998) carried "La Copa de la Vida", the official song of that year's World Cup in France. He sang it at the 1999 Grammy Awards, where Vuelve took Best Latin Pop Performance, and that spring "Livin' la Vida Loca" spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 as the lead single from his first English-language album. He has gone on recording in Spanish throughout: Almas del Silencio (2003), and A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015), which won Best Latin Pop Album. He came out publicly in 2010, and his foundation campaigns against human trafficking.