La Borinqueña (Sharks Version) Lyrics in English by David Álvarez, The Sharks
Borinqueño means “Puerto Rican,” specifically someone or something connected to Borinquen, the Indigenous Taíno name for Puerto Rico. It is more evocative than the everyday adjective puertorriqueño and gives the song a distinctly cultural, patriotic voice as it calls the people of Puerto Rico to awaken and fight for freedom.
"La Borinqueña" is Puerto Rico's anthem, and this short version uses the fierce 1868 revolutionary words rather than the gentle official ones. It opens with a wake-up order: "¡Despierta Borinqueño / Que han dado la señal!" (Wake up, Puerto Rican, for the signal has been given!). "Borinqueño" comes from Borinquen, the Taíno name for the island, so the singer is calling every islander by the island's oldest name. Then the song turns to war: "¡Ven! nos será simpático / El ruido de cañón" (Come! The roar of the cannon will sound sweet to us), and "Nuestros machetes nos la dará" (Our machetes will give it to us), where "la" is freedom.
The last lines repeat one word until it becomes a chant: "¡La libertad, la libertad!" (Freedom, freedom!). In West Side Story (2021) the Sharks sing it to claim their Puerto Rican pride in a New York neighborhood that wants them gone. It is a good song for practising commands like "despierta" (wake up) and "ven" (come), and the "vámonos" (let's go) form.
