Soy Feliz Lyrics in English by Ricardo Montaner, Li Saumet

Despecho describes the sadness, resentment, or wounded pride that follows romantic disappointment. In the song, “Deja el despecho por la muchacha” means “let go of your heartbreak over the girl,” making it a vivid and culturally rich word for moving on and choosing happiness.

Ricardo Montaner opens this one like a party radio show, with a host shouting "Felicidad nacional en todo el estado" [National happiness across the whole state] before he even starts singing. Then he gets straight to his advice: "Deja la queja ya" [Stop complaining already] and "La vida es corta" [Life is short]. The plan is simple. "Baila en la calle, di cosas bellas" [Dance in the street, say beautiful things], and shout to the world "Yo soy feliz" [I am happy]. The chorus line "Vamos que la vida es una fiesta" [Come on, life is a party] is the whole song in one sentence, and it sticks in your head fast.

The second verse is my favourite bit because it gets so specific. He spots a guy with "esa cara triste" [that sad face] and tells him to drop the "despecho" [heartbreak] over a girl he met. Despecho is a great word to learn: it is that bitter, sulky feeling after someone dumps you, and there is a whole genre of Latin heartbreak music named after it. His cure is "Muestra esos dientes" [Show those teeth], a cheeky way of saying smile, and come to the corner because "la parranda ya está caliente" [the party is already heating up]. Parranda is a lively street party, very Venezuelan and Caribbean.

Then Li Saumet crashes in and honestly steals the song. She says that is nice, "pero es que yo estoy despierta" [but the thing is, I am awake], and lists what bothers her: "La gente pasa hambre de Colombia hasta Etiopía" [People go hungry from Colombia to Ethiopia]. Her sharpest line is "¿Pa' qué me abres la puerta si me cierras la frontera?" [Why open the door for me if you close the border on me?]. Notice pa', the casual spoken short form of para (for), and to' el día for todo el día (all day). She still lands on happy, though: "a pesar de todo esta vida es una bomba" [despite everything, this life is a blast]. Here bomba means something amazing, not an explosion. The very last words, "Agüita de coco" [a little coconut water], are just a playful tropical sign off.