LEARN LYRICS

Rosalía’s “Catalina” is a modern bulería that feels like opening a faded love letter only to find the ink still fresh with pain. The singer pleads, “Ponme la mano aquí, Catalina” (Put your hand here, Catalina) because her beloved’s touch is both remedy and reminder—cold, distant, and yet desperately needed. Every line tumbles with raw anguish: a lover has vanished to Germany, memories once buried resurface, and the narrator flirts with the idea of poison and death. What sounds dramatic is actually classic flamenco: exaggerated emotion that turns private heartache into public art.

Mid-song the despair spirals into dark humor as the narrator tries to dictate a chaotic testament to a scribe. He lists odds and ends—curtains, a broken picture frame, an unused shotgun—turning sorrow into almost absurd theater. The contrast between life-or-death pleas and petty possessions shows how heartbreak distorts priorities. By blending traditional flamenco intensity with her own modern storytelling, Rosalía makes “Catalina” a whirlwind of longing, bitterness, and dramatic flair that leaves listeners breathless and strangely exhilarated.

Rosalía Vila Tobella, known simply as Rosalía, is a groundbreaking Spanish singer and songwriter born in 1992 in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia. Trained at the prestigious Catalonia College of Music, she skillfully blends traditional flamenco with modern genres like pop, hip hop, and urbano, creating a fresh and genre-defying sound.

Her 2018 album El mal querer earned critical acclaim and won the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year, solidifying her place as a transformative artist. Rosalía has continued to innovate with hits like "Con altura" and her experimental 2022 album Motomami, which received universal praise and international attention. With multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy wins, she is celebrated as one of Spain’s most influential contemporary musicians, known for pushing musical boundaries and captivating audiences worldwide.