- When love is real… but timing isn’t
- ▶️ Listen to the song
- 🎵 Cristina – Spanish → English Translation [Sebastian Yatra, TINI]
- 📚 Extended Vocabulary & Grammar Notes
- 🧠 Quiz Yourself
- Final Thoughts: loving even when you can’t stay
When love is real… but timing isn’t
Some songs are dramatic.
Some are playful.
Cristina is quiet heartbreak.
This is the kind of song that feels like a memory. Two people meet. Something clicks instantly. It’s young, spontaneous, warm. But life gets in the way. Distance creeps in. Timing refuses to cooperate.
Sebastián Yatra and TINI’s voices together bring a softness that makes the longing feel honest. It doesn’t shout. It aches.
For Spanish learners, this song is particularly valuable because:
- The storytelling is linear and clear.
- The verbs are emotionally expressive but grammatically manageable.
- It includes useful question structures.
- It moves between present, past, and future naturally.
Level-wise, this sits around A2–B1, with some B2 emotional nuance.
▶️ Listen to the song
🎧 Sebastián Yatra, TINI – Cristina (Official Video)
This is one of those songs that feels different the second time you hear it.
🎵 Cristina – Spanish → English Translation [Sebastian Yatra, TINI]
Entre tanta gente yo te vi llegar
Among so many people, I saw you arrive
Algo en el destino me hizo saludar
Something in destiny made me say hello
Te dije mi nombre y no sé dónde
I told you my name and I don’t know how
Como con un beso me respondes
As if with a kiss you answered me
Solo te importó que te tratara bien
You only cared that I treated you well
Tú de 19 y yo de 23
You at 19 and me at 23
Y empecé mis planes para vernos otra vez
And I started making plans to see each other again
Y si pudiera mostrarte
And if I could show you
Que estando juntos, ya no hay nada que falte
That when we’re together, nothing is missing
Y que a pesar de la distancia, te voy a querer
And that despite the distance, I’m going to love you
Solo tienes que saber
You just need to know
Que yo quisiera quedarme
That I would like to stay
Y aunque no debo, solo quiero llamarte
And even though I shouldn’t, I just want to call you
Que repitamos las historias una y otra vez, no sé
That we repeat the stories again and again, I don’t know
¿Cómo te pido que te enamores?
How do I ask you to fall in love?
Cuando al final no voy a estar cuando tú llores
When in the end I won’t be there when you cry
¿Cómo te pido que te ilusiones?
How do I ask you to get your hopes up?
Y recortar nuestra distancia con canciones
And shorten our distance with songs
¿Cómo te pido? Si al final no voy a estar
How do I ask you? If in the end I won’t be there
Cuando de ti me enamore
When I fall in love with you
Cuando de ti me enamore
When I fall in love with you
Recuerdo todo lo que te gustaba
I remember everything you liked
Y tu camisa que llega a los pies
And your shirt that reaches your feet
Esa carita cuando te cantaba por primera vez
That little face when I sang to you for the first time
Me llevo todo y no me llevo nada
I take everything and take nothing
Sin ti no hay nada, todo te dejé
Without you there is nothing, I left you everything
Sé que es muy pronto para estas palabras, pero las diré
I know it’s too soon for these words, but I’ll say them
Como tu mano y mi mano, en la noche no sienten frío
Like your hand and my hand, at night they don’t feel cold
Sin ti las horas se pasan, pero con días vacíos
Without you the hours pass, but with empty days
Como en Marbella las olas, tú estabas bella y a solas
Like the waves in Marbella, you were beautiful and alone
Y yo te extraño y te extraño, pero te llamo y lo olvido
And I miss you and I miss you, but I call you and forget it
Cómo te quiero y te quiero, pero este amor ya no es mío
How I love you and love you, but this love is no longer mine
Sé que tu boca y mi boca, cuando se juntan, hay lío
I know that your mouth and my mouth, when they meet, there’s trouble
Cómo quisiera quedarme, pero ahora no estás conmigo
How I wish I could stay, but now you’re not with me
Sé que la vida se pasa, pero no pasa contigo
I know life passes, but it doesn’t pass with you
Y aunque yo esté en otra parte
And even if I’m somewhere else
Soy más feliz porque yo pude encontrarte
I’m happier because I was able to find you
Y aunque no tenga la certeza de volverte a ver
And even if I don’t have the certainty of seeing you again
Es tuya esta canción
This song is yours
Recuérdame
Remember me
📚 Extended Vocabulary & Grammar Notes
1. “¿Cómo te pido que…?” – Subjunctive Structure
Structure:
¿Cómo + verb + que + subjunctive?
- ¿Cómo te pido que te enamores?
- ¿Cómo te pido que te ilusiones?
Why enamores / ilusiones?
Because:
- After verbs of request, influence, or emotion → subjunctive.
That’s B1 grammar in action.
2. “Cuando de ti me enamore” – Future Subjunctive Meaning
This refers to a future possibility.
After cuando referring to future → use present subjunctive.
Not:
- cuando me enamoro
But: - cuando me enamore
3. Contrast Structure
“Me llevo todo y no me llevo nada”
Beautiful paradox.
He emotionally takes everything but physically nothing.
This is common poetic contrast in Spanish songwriting.
4. “A pesar de la distancia”
Very useful connector:
- A pesar de = despite
- A pesar de la lluvia
- A pesar del miedo
5. Emotional Verbs
| Verb | Meaning |
| enamorarse | to fall in love |
| ilusionarse | to get hopeful |
| extrañar | to miss |
| quedarse | to stay |
| llevarse | to take with oneself |
🧠 Quiz Yourself
1️⃣ Why is “te enamores” in subjunctive?
A. It’s past tense
B. It’s conditional
C. It follows a verb of request
D. It expresses certainty
E. It’s future
2️⃣ What does “recortar nuestra distancia” mean?
A. Cut physically
B. Shorten the distance
C. Forget the distance
D. Remove the distance
E. Measure the distance
3️⃣ “A pesar de la distancia” means:
A. Because of the distance
B. Before the distance
C. Despite the distance
D. Through the distance
E. Without the distance
4️⃣ “Me llevo todo y no me llevo nada” expresses:
A. Anger
B. Confusion
C. A literal situation
D. Emotional contradiction
E. Fear
5️⃣ Why is “cuando de ti me enamore” subjunctive?
A. It’s hypothetical
B. It’s negative
C. It refers to past
D. It refers to a future event
E. It’s informal
✅ Answers
1-C, 2-B, 3-C, 4-D, 5-D
Final Thoughts: loving even when you can’t stay
Cristina is about loving someone honestly enough to admit you might not be there forever.
It’s not dramatic. It’s reflective. And that makes it hurt more.
For Spanish learners, it’s a fantastic song to understand how longing and future uncertainty are expressed grammatically.
If you want help breaking down songs like this and turning emotional Spanish into confident Spanish:
📩 Write to me at
Because sometimes the most powerful Spanish
is the quiet kind.
Spanish Songs, Translated 
Leave a comment