Spanish Songs, Translated

What do you get when you mix a catchy reggaeton beat, Cardi B’s confidence, and a song about being completely captivated by someone whose name you don’t even know? La Modelo.

Ozuna and Cardi B bring together Spanish, English, flirtation, and plenty of dance-floor energy. The lyrics are especially useful for learning informal Spanish, from shortened words like vamo’ and pa’ to expressions like de cora, which means something close to “for real” or “sincerely.”

🎵 About the Song

La Modelo, meaning “The Model,” is a collaboration between Puerto Rican singer Ozuna and American rapper Cardi B. The music video premiered in December 2017, and the track later appeared on Ozuna’s album Aura. <Cite refs={[“turn773245youtube24”,“turn773245search0”]} />

The song revolves around attraction, desire, and the lingering impression someone can leave after a brief encounter. Cardi B’s participation also makes it a useful example of the bilingual influence running through contemporary Latin urban music. <Cite refs={[“turn773245search6”,“turn773245search10”]} />

▶️ Listen to the Song

Watch the official music video: Ozuna – La Modelo ft. Cardi B⁠

📚 Reading Comprehension Level

Estimated level: A2-B1 (Elementary to Intermediate)

The lyrics use familiar verbs, direct statements, and repeated phrases. The main challenge is understanding informal pronunciation, Caribbean Spanish slang, and expressions that don’t translate word for word into English.

We will focus on:

• Describing attraction and feelings.
• Understanding shortened words in spoken Spanish.
• Using the present tense and the subjunctive.
• Recognising informal expressions used in music and conversation.

🎤 La Modelo – Spanish Lyrics and English Translation

Intro

¿Cuantás de ustedes son mis modelos?
How many of you are my models?

¿Cuantás de ustedes son mis modelos?
How many of you are my models?

Uoh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Uoh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Uoh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Uoh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Verse 1

Yo quiero hacerte tantas cosas sin enamorarte
I want to do so many things with you without making you fall in love

Quiero que te sientas cómoda, así vamo’ aparte
I want you to feel comfortable, so let’s go somewhere private

Así, como tú quieras, te hago el amor
However you want it, I’ll make love to you

Y pa’ mí, modélame, bebé, en ropa interior
And for me, model for me, baby, in your underwear

Chorus

Y de pensar que yo contigo quiero estar
And just thinking about how I want to be with you

Querer probar algo de ti pa’ no olvidar
Wanting to experience something with you so I won’t forget

Yo no me sé ni su nombre, pero la quiero
I don’t even know her name, but I want her

Pasó y dejó su fragancia y hasta me desespero
She passed by and left her fragrance, and now I’m practically going crazy

Y de pensar que yo contigo quiero estar
And just thinking about how I want to be with you

Querer probar algo de ti pa’ no olvidar
Wanting to experience something with you so I won’t forget

Yo no me sé ni su nombre, pero la quiero
I don’t even know her name, but I want her

Pasó y dejó su fragancia y hasta me desespero (Sube, sube)
She passed by and left her fragrance, and now I’m practically going crazy (Turn it up, turn it up)

Post-Chorus

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai

Así es que la quiero, quiero
That’s how I want her, want her

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai

Así es que la quiero, quiero
That’s how I want her, want her

Verse 2

Si la viera, baila hasta sola
If you saw her, she dances even on her own

Peligrosa como una pistola
Dangerous like a gun

Rompe la disco, to’ el mundo menciona
She lights up the club, everyone talks about her

Pero esa mami conmigo es de cora
But that girl is genuine with me

Bésame, báilame ahora
Kiss me, dance with me now

Me mete sudando, su cuerpo demora
She gets me sweating; her body takes its time

De todas las baby’ ella es la championa
Of all the girls, she’s the champion

Se pone loquita si me escucha en la emisora, y ahora
She goes crazy when she hears me on the radio, and now…

Bésame, báilame ahora
Kiss me, dance with me now

Me mete sudando, su cuerpo demora
She gets me sweating; her body takes its time

De todas las baby’ ella es la championa
Of all the girls, she’s the champion

Se pone loquita si me escucha en la emisora, y ahora
She goes crazy when she hears me on the radio, and now…

Chorus Variation

Y de pensar que yo contigo quiero estar (Por acá no se oye)
And just thinking about how I want to be with you (We can’t hear it over here)

Querer probar algo de ti pa’ no olvidar
Wanting to experience something with you so I won’t forget

Yo no me sé ni su nombre, pero la quiero
I don’t even know her name, but I want her

Pasó y dejó su fragancia y hasta me desespero (Republica Dominacana que se sienta)
She passed by and left her fragrance, and now I’m practically going crazy (Let the Dominican Republic feel it)

Blow, blow, blow (Sube, sube)
Blow, blow, blow (Turn it up, turn it up)

Post-Chorus

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai

Así es que la quiero, quiero
That’s how I want her, want her

Verse 1 Repeated

Yo quiero hacerte tantas cosas sin enamorarte
I want to do so many things with you without making you fall in love

Quiero que te sientas cómoda, así vamo’ aparte
I want you to feel comfortable, so let’s go somewhere private

Así, como tú quieras, te hago el amor
However you want it, I’ll make love to you

Y pa’ mí, modélame, bebé, en ropa interior (Que se escuche acapella)
And for me, model for me, baby, in your underwear (Let it be heard a cappella)

Final Chorus

Y de pensar que yo contigo quiero estar (No se oye, más duro allá atrás)
And just thinking about how I want to be with you (We can’t hear it, louder at the back)

Querer probar algo de ti pa’ no olvidar (Más duro, más duro)
Wanting to experience something with you so I won’t forget (Louder, louder)

Yo no me sé ni su nombre, (Por acá) pero la quiero (porque)
I don’t even know her name (Over here), but I want her (because)

Pasó y dejó su fragancia y hasta me desespero (Blow, blow, blow, sube, sube)
She passed by and left her fragrance, and now I’m practically going crazy (Blow, blow, blow, turn it up, turn it up)

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai (Oh, oh)

Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai
Y rapa pa pai, rapa pa pai

Así es que la quiero, quiero
That’s how I want her, want her

Translation note: Some phrases, especially rapa pa pai, are rhythmic vocal refrains rather than standard Spanish expressions. The lyrics also use deliberately shortened spellings such as vamo’, pa’ and to’ to reflect informal pronunciation.

📝 Vocabulary We Learned Through La Modelo

Spanish	English	Context
enamorarse	To fall in love	Sin enamorarte means “without making you fall in love”
cómoda	Comfortable	Feminine form of cómodo
aparte	Separately, aside, privately	Vamo’ aparte suggests going somewhere private
ropa interior	Underwear	A common clothing expression
fragancia	Fragrance, scent	The scent someone leaves behind
desespero	Despair, desperation	Related to desesperarse, to become desperate
pasar	To pass by	Pasó means “he/she passed”
bailar	To dance	Baila hasta sola, “she dances even alone”
peligrosa	Dangerous	Feminine form of peligroso
romper	To break	In nightlife slang, romper la disco means to bring the club to life
mencionar	To mention	Todo el mundo menciona means “everyone talks about it/her”
sudar	To sweat	Sudando means “sweating”
cuerpo	Body	A common noun for the physical body
campeona	Champion	Feminine form of campeón
escuchar	To hear, to listen to	Me escucha en la emisora means “she hears me on the radio”
emisora	Radio station	Common in many Spanish-speaking countries
modelo	Model	A person who poses for photographs or fashion
pistola	Gun	Used in a comparison to describe someone as dangerous

🔤 Grammar We Learned Through La Modelo

Grammar point	Example from the song	Explanation
Querer + infinitive	Yo quiero hacerte tantas cosas	Querer followed by an infinitive means “to want to do” something.
Sin + infinitive	Sin enamorarte	Sin means “without.” When followed by an infinitive, it describes an action that does not happen.
Present subjunctive after querer que	Quiero que te sientas cómoda	When one person wants another person to do or feel something, Spanish commonly uses querer que + subjunctive.
Reflexive verbs	Enamorarte	The pronoun te attaches to the infinitive enamorar. The full verb is enamorarse, “to fall in love.”
Present tense	Yo no me sé ni su nombre	The present tense describes what the singer knows or feels now.
Preterite tense	Pasó y dejó su fragancia	Pasó and dejó describe completed actions in the past: “she passed by and left her fragrance.”
Si clauses	Si la viera	Viera is the imperfect subjunctive. In this context, the phrase can be understood as “if you saw her.”
Estar + gerund	Se pone loquita si me escucha	The lyric uses the present tense, but ponerse describes a change of state: she goes crazy when she hears him. A related progressive construction would be está bailando, “is dancing.”

💬 Spanish Expressions We Learned Through La Modelo

Expression	Meaning	How to use it
De cora	Sincerely, genuinely, for real	Informal shortening of de corazón. For example, Te lo digo de cora means “I’m telling you sincerely.”
Vamo’ aparte	Let’s go somewhere private / Let’s go separately	Informal pronunciation of vamos. The exact meaning depends on the context.
Pa’ no olvidar	So as not to forget	A shortened form of para no olvidar. In casual speech, para often becomes pa’.
No me sé ni su nombre	I don’t even know their name	Useful for emphasising how little you know about someone.
Romper la disco	To light up the club	Informal music slang for making a big impression on the dance floor.
Se pone loquita	She goes a little crazy	Ponerse describes a change in mood or state. Loquita is an informal diminutive of loca.
De todas…, ella es la campeona	Of them all, she’s the champion	A playful way to say someone stands out above everyone else.
Sube, sube	Turn it up, turn it up	A common command meaning “raise it,” often used for music volume.

🧠 Quick Spanish Quiz

Test your understanding of the lyrics before checking the answers.

1. What does the singer want to happen without making the other person fall in love?

A. To travel together
B. To do many things with them
C. To introduce them to his family
D. To teach them to dance

2. What does “dejó su fragancia” mean?

A. She left her perfume or scent behind.
B. She forgot her clothes.
C. She changed her name.
D. She left the radio on.

3. In the song, what does “de cora” mean?

A. Dangerously
B. Secretly
C. Sincerely or genuinely
D. Slowly

4. What happens when she hears the singer on the radio?

A. She gets angry.
B. She goes crazy with excitement.
C. She leaves the club.
D. She forgets how to dance.

5. Which phrase means “without making you fall in love”?

A. Pa’ no olvidar
B. Sin enamorarte
C. Ropa interior
D. De todas las baby’

✅ Answer Key

1. B – Yo quiero hacerte tantas cosas means “I want to do so many things with you.”
2. A – Fragancia means fragrance or scent.
3. C – De cora is informal Spanish for sincerely or genuinely.
4. B – Se pone loquita means she goes a little crazy.
5. B – Sin enamorarte means without making you fall in love.

📚 Keep Learning Spanish

Want to move beyond recognising individual words and start building sentences of your own? A good next step is to practise verb forms and see how they work in different contexts.

Recommended book: 501 Spanish Verbs⁠

This reference book is useful for looking up conjugations and comparing verb forms, including the present tense, past tenses, and subjunctive forms that appear in Spanish songs. Keep it handy when a lyric makes you wonder why a verb looks the way it does.

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✨ Final Thoughts

La Modelo is full of the informal Spanish you hear in reggaeton: words get shortened, expressions become playful, and meaning depends as much on context as on the dictionary.

The useful takeaway is that learning a language through music isn’t just about memorising lyrics. It’s about noticing patterns, understanding how people actually speak, and gradually becoming more comfortable with Spanish outside the textbook.

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I’m a certified C1-level Spanish teacher who helps learners build confidence through real conversations and work towards fluency. If you’d like to practise Spanish, ask a question, or learn with me, drop me an email.

Drop me an email at effietrumpet19@gmail.com