Spanish to English
Macarena Song Translation
This is the Macarena translated line by line from Spanish to English. The chorus is the same in every version of the song. The three verses are from the 1993 Los del Rio original, which is where the story of Macarena, Vitorino and his two friends comes from. Each line has a note where a word or a reference needs one. The English verses of the Bayside Boys remix are on the Macarena song lyrics page, together with this translation.
Macarena Lyrics: Side-by-Side Spanish to English Translation
The original Spanish lyrics tell a much more specific story than the English remix lets on. Here is a line-by-line translation of the key verses, with cultural context that helps explain references that non-Spanish speakers would miss.
Spanish Original
English Translation
Chorus
Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena
Give your body joy, Macarena
Context: An invitation to dance and celebrate life.
Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegria y cosa buena
Because your body is meant for giving it joy and good things
Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena
Give your body joy, Macarena
Hey Macarena!
Hey Macarena!
Verse 1 (The Infidelity)
Macarena tiene un novio que se llama, que se llama de apellido Vitorino
Macarena has a boyfriend whose last name is Vitorino
Que en la jura de bandera del muchacho
And during the boy's military swearing-in ceremony
Context: 'Jura de bandera' is a military oath ceremony in Spain where soldiers swear loyalty to the flag.
Se la dio con dos amigos
She got together with two of his friends
Context: This is the line that reveals the song's scandalous plot: Macarena cheated on Vitorino with two of his friends while he was at his military ceremony.
Verse 2 (Her Ambitions)
Macarena suena con El Corte Ingles
Macarena dreams of El Corte Ingles
Context: El Corte Ingles is Spain's largest department store chain, comparable to Harrods or Macy's. This signals Macarena's love of high fashion and materialism.
Que se compra los modelos mas modernos
Where she buys the most modern styles
Le gustaria vivir en Nueva York
She would like to live in New York
Y ligar un novio nuevo
And hook up with a new boyfriend
Context: 'Ligar' is Spanish slang for flirting or picking someone up.
Verse 3 (Marbella and the Movida)
Macarena, Macarena, Macarena, que te gustan los veranos de Marbella
Macarena, Macarena, Macarena, you love the summers of Marbella
Context: Marbella is a glamorous resort town on Spain's Costa del Sol, known for its beaches and nightlife.
Macarena, Macarena, Macarena, que te gusta la movida guerrillera
Macarena, Macarena, Macarena, you like the guerrilla scene
Context: 'La movida' likely references Spain's countercultural movement after the Franco era, a period of artistic and social liberation in the 1980s and early 1990s.
What Each Section of the Macarena Says
Each part of the song in plain English, with notes on the Spanish words that a word-for-word translation misses. The lines themselves are in the table above.
The chorus
The chorus speaks to Macarena directly. It tells her that her body is made for joy and good times, so she should enjoy it. It is the same in both versions, and it ends in the shout that cues the jump and turn in the dance.
Vocabulary and grammar notes
Dale: The imperative form of "dar" (to give). "Dale" literally means "give it." In conversational Spanish it often functions as "go ahead" or "do it."
pa': A colloquial contraction of "para" (for). Common in spoken Andalusian Spanish and throughout Latin America.
cosa buena: "Good thing" or "good stuff." In this context it carries a double meaning, referring both to wholesome enjoyment and to physical pleasure.
Spanish verse 1: Vitorino
The narrator introduces Macarena's boyfriend and gives his surname, Vitorino. While he is at his jura de bandera, the oath ceremony for new conscripts, Macarena gets involved with two of his friends. This is the line most English-speaking fans never knew was there.
Vocabulary and grammar notes
jura de bandera: A military oath ceremony in Spain where conscripts swear loyalty to the national flag. Until 2001, military service was compulsory for Spanish men.
se la dio: A colloquial expression meaning "she gave herself to" or "she got involved with." The phrasing is deliberately euphemistic.
de apellido: "By last name" or "by surname." Specifying the surname emphasizes that this is a real, known person in the story.
Spanish verse 2: Her plans
Macarena dreams about El Corte Ingles, Spain's biggest department store, and buying the latest styles there. She would like to live in New York and pick up a new boyfriend. She is not sorry about Vitorino. She is looking ahead.
Vocabulary and grammar notes
El Corte Ingles: Spain's largest department store chain, comparable to Harrods in London or Macy's in the United States. The name translates literally to "The English Cut," referring to a style of tailoring.
ligar: Spanish slang for flirting, hooking up, or picking someone up romantically. Very common in casual conversation but carries a forward, assertive tone.
Nueva York: New York. In the 1990s, New York represented the peak of cosmopolitan aspiration for many Europeans. Macarena's desire to live there signals her ambition beyond small-town Andalusia.
Spanish verse 3: Marbella and the movida
The narrator repeats her name and lists what she likes: summers in Marbella, the resort town on the Costa del Sol, and the rebellious nightlife scene the song calls the movida. Both place her in the fast, fashionable side of 1990s Spain.
Vocabulary and grammar notes
Marbella: A glamorous resort city on Spain's Costa del Sol, known for beaches, nightlife, and wealth. Spending summers there implies a taste for the high life.
la movida: Likely a reference to "La Movida Madrilena," the countercultural movement that swept Spain after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. It celebrated artistic freedom, nightlife, and rebellion against conservative traditions.
guerrillera: Literally "guerrilla" (feminine form). Combined with "movida," this suggests Macarena enjoys an edgy, nonconformist lifestyle rather than literal guerrilla warfare.
The English verses
In the remix, Macarena speaks for herself. In the first English verse she introduces herself, says the men all want her, and invites them to dance beside her. The second verse brushes off Vitorino and hints at what happened with his friends while he was away, without spelling it out. The last verse invites everyone to find her at the party and sing along.
Pronunciation Tips for Non-Spanish Speakers
Alegria (ah-leh-GREE-ah): Stress falls on the third syllable. The "g" is soft, almost like an English "h" in some dialects. Means "joy" or "happiness."
Jura (HOO-rah): The Spanish "j" sounds like an English "h." This word means "oath" or "swearing-in."
Guerrillera (geh-ree-YEH-rah): Four syllables. The double "l" in Castilian Spanish makes a "y" sound (or "j" sound in some Latin American dialects).
Ligar (lee-GAR): Stress on the second syllable. A common colloquial verb that does not appear in most beginner textbooks.
A Note on Andalusian Spanish
Los del Rio are from Dos Hermanas, a town near Seville in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Andalusian Spanish differs from standard Castilian in several ways that show up in the Macarena lyrics. Contractions like "pa'" instead of "para" are standard in spoken Andalusian. Word-final consonants are often dropped or softened. And colloquial expressions like "se la dio" carry meanings that a textbook translation would miss entirely.
Understanding these regional features is important because they explain why some translations of the Macarena feel awkward or incomplete. The song was written to sound natural in the Andalusian dialect, not to be easily translated into other languages. That gap between the original feel and the translated words is part of what allowed the song to become a family-friendly hit worldwide, since most listeners could not make out what was being said.
Questions About the Translation
What does Macarena mean in English?+
What does se la dio con dos amigos mean?+
Are the English verses of the remix a translation of the Spanish verses?+
More Macarena Lyrics Pages
- Macarena song lyrics: the English and Spanish lyrics in full, with this translation
- Macarena lyrics in Spanish: the 1993 original
- Macarena song meaning: what the story means and how people read it