💔 When a Song Explains Grief Without Naming It: Dos Oruguitas
There are songs that make you cry because you understand every word.
And then there are songs that make you cry before you understand anything at all.
When this song plays in Encanto, it appears quietly, almost gently, against some of the most emotionally devastating visuals in the film. And somehow, with the simplest words and the softest melody, it explains something enormous. That even after deep loss, even after separation that feels unbearable, life does not end. It changes shape.
I remember hearing this song for the first time and feeling completely undone, even without fully understanding the Spanish. The emotion landed anyway. And then later, reading the lyrics, it hurt again, but in a different way. Slower. Deeper. More reflective.
This song is heartbreaking, yes. But it is also hopeful. It suggests that growth sometimes requires separation, that love does not disappear when it changes form, and that beauty can still exist after grief has carved its space.
For Spanish learners, Dos Oruguitas is special:
- slow, clear pronunciation
- simple but poetic vocabulary
- repetition that reinforces meaning
- metaphors that carry the emotion, not the grammar
Linguistically, it sits around A2 to B1 level, but emotionally, it feels much older and heavier than that.
- 💔 When a Song Explains Grief Without Naming It: Dos Oruguitas
- ▶️ Listen to the Song
- 🎵 Dos Oruguitas – Sebastián Yatra (Spanish → English Translation line-by-line song lyric translation)
- 📘 Vocabulary Builder
- 🧠 Quiz Yourself: Did You Catch These?
- 🌱 Final Thoughts: When Letting Go Is the Act of Love
▶️ Listen to the Song
🎧 Sebastián Yatra – Dos Oruguitas (From Encanto)
(This is one of those songs where knowing the meaning does not soften the impact. It deepens it.)
🎵 Dos Oruguitas – Sebastián Yatra (Spanish → English Translation line-by-line song lyric translation)
Dos oruguitas enamoradas
Two little caterpillars in love
Pasan sus noches y madrugadas
They spend their nights and early mornings
Llenas de hambre
Full of hunger
Siguen andando y navegando un mundo
They keep walking and navigating a world
Que cambia y sigue cambiando
That changes and keeps changing
Dos oruguitas paran el viento
Two little caterpillars stop the wind
Mientras se abrazan con sentimiento
While they hold each other with feeling
Siguen creciendo, no saben cuándo
They keep growing, they do not know when
Buscar algún rincón
They will have to look for a corner
El tiempo sigue cambiando
Time keeps changing
Inseparables son
They are inseparable
El tiempo sigue cambiando
Time keeps changing
Ay, oruguitas, no se aguanten más
Oh little caterpillars, do not hold on anymore
Hay que crecer aparte y volver
You have to grow apart and return
Hacia adelante seguirás
You will keep moving forward
Vienen milagros, vienen crisálidas
Miracles are coming, chrysalises are coming
Hay que partir y construir su propio futuro
You have to leave and build your own future
Dos oruguitas desorientadas
Two little caterpillars, disoriented
En dos capullos bien abrigadas
In two well sheltered cocoons
Con sueños nuevos
With new dreams
Ya solo falta hacer lo necesario
Now all that’s left is to do what’s necessary
En el mundo que sigue cambiando
In the world that keeps changing
Tumbando sus paredes
Breaking down their walls
Ahí viene nuestro milagro
Here comes our miracle
Nuestro milagro
Our miracle
Ay, mariposas, no se aguanten más
Oh butterflies, do not hold on anymore
Hay que crecer aparte y volver
You have to grow apart and return
Hacia adelante seguirás
You will keep moving forward
Ya son milagros, rompiendo crisálidas
They are already miracles, breaking out of chrysalises
Hay que volar, hay que encontrar
You have to fly, you have to find
Su propio futuro
Your own future
📘 Vocabulary Builder
Recommended level: A2–B1
🌱 Core Vocabulary
| Spanish | English | Notes |
| oruguita | little caterpillar | Diminutive, tenderness |
| enamoradas | in love | Emotional state |
| madrugada | early morning | Common poetic word |
| crecer | to grow | Literal and metaphorical |
| futuro | future | Central theme |
🦋 Poetic and Symbolic Language
| Spanish | English | Meaning |
| no se aguanten más | do not hold on anymore | Let go |
| crecer aparte | grow apart | Painful growth |
| crisálida | chrysalis | Transformation |
| romper crisálidas | break out of cocoons | Becoming yourself |
| milagro | miracle | Survival, rebirth |
📚 Why This Spanish Works for Learners
- Short, clear sentences
- Repetition of key ideas
- Present tense with universal meaning
- Emotion carried by imagery, not grammar
🧠 Quiz Yourself: Did You Catch These?
Take a moment before checking the answers.
1️⃣ What do the “oruguitas” represent in the song?
A. Children growing up
B. Lovers who must separate to grow
C. A physical journey
D. Nature only
2️⃣ What does “no se aguanten más” suggest emotionally?
A. Anger
B. Fear
C. Excitement
D. Letting go
3️⃣ What does the chrysalis symbolize?
A. Painful transformation
B. Waiting without change
C. Safety forever
D. Childhood
4️⃣ Why does the song repeat “el tiempo sigue cambiando”?
A. To describe nature
B. To show impatience
C. To mark the seasons
D. To remind us change is unavoidable
ANSWERS
1-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-D
🌱 Final Thoughts: When Letting Go Is the Act of Love
Dos Oruguitas does not rush grief.
It sits with it.
And then, quietly, it shows what comes next.
For Spanish learners, this song is a reminder that you do not always need to understand every word for a song to reach you. But when you do understand it, the experience deepens. It becomes layered. Personal.
If you want to keep learning Spanish through songs that carry real emotional weight, or if you want guidance from a teacher who believes language is felt before it is mastered:
📩 Write to me at
Because sometimes the most important lessons.. arrive wrapped in music and tears.
Spanish Songs, Translated 
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