Barranquilla Está De Moda Lyrics in English by Grupo Niche

This is a love letter to a city, and Grupo Niche play tour guide. The singer is asked to write "algo de corazón" (something from the heart), grabs his old guitar and heads for Barranquilla, the Colombian Caribbean city famous for its Carnival. The chorus is pure hometown pride: "Barranquilla está de moda" (Barranquilla is in fashion) and "Quien lo vive es quien lo goza" (whoever lives it is the one who enjoys it), which is the Barranquilla Carnival's own motto.

Most of the song is a list of places, so think of it as a map you can dance to. He drives in over the Pumarejo bridge across the Magdalena river, the country's biggest. "La arenosa" (the sandy one) is a local nickname for the city, and "Puerta de Oro de Colombia" (Colombia's Golden Gate) is another. The Junior line is about the city's football club, and the Edgar Rentería stop is named after the baseball star from Barranquilla. Then come the neighbourhoods: Rebolo, Barrio Abajo, El Prado, and la Guacherna, the night-time parade that opens Carnival.

My favourite bit is a rhyme: "Entro al Rebolo y La Luz, y ahí se forma el rebolú" (I go into Rebolo and La Luz, and that's where the commotion starts). Rebolú is Caribbean Colombian slang for a big mess or a party getting out of hand. It ends with "Ajá, ¿y qué?" (yeah, so what?), a very costeño shrug.