TFT: Livin’ la vida loca

This Tuesday we’re listening to a song which we’re sure almost all of you know already, Livin’ la vida loca – the full Spanish version, of course! It was written by Desmond Child and Draco Rosa and performed by Enrique Martín Morales, better known as Ricky Martin or the ‘King of Latin Pop’. It was a huge international success when it was released in 1999, receiving several Grammy nominations, and is often thought of as the song which paved the way for the many other Spanish-speaking artists who became successful worldwide shortly after, including Enrique Iglesias and Shakira. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Ricky Martin began his life as a performer when he was 9 years old, when he began to appear in adverts for various products, including soft drinks and toothpaste! He then embarked on his career as a singer at the age of 12, with Puerto Rican boy band, Menudo.

Luckily for us, Livin’ la vida loca is full of memorable examples of the future tense. Listen out for the yo form of poder in the future tense in the first verse: “Yo no podré salvarme” and various examples of verbs in the future tense in the third-person singular form, including “Ella que será” and “Ella te dirá”. 

We recommend taking the time to spot any other language points you have been learning about in the lyrics, as the well-known tune may make them nice and easy to remember. You can find the lyrics online by clicking here, or if you’d like to hear the song played more slowly, we recommend watching the YouTube video below and selecting a slower playback speed by clicking on the settings symbol. 

We’d love to hear what you think of Livin’ la vida loca in the comments below, and don’t hesitate to share some of your favourite songs in Spanish with us.