“Ese Hombre” (That Man) by La India, English translation

“That Man” Lyrics
Album: Dicen Que Soy (They Say I Am), 1994
About: Salsa song about a bad man who hides behind fake kindness. An excellent song for adjectives to describe someone you don’t like.
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan galante,
Tan atento y arrogante,
Lo conozco como a mí.

That man that you see there
Who seems so gallant,
So attentive and arrogant,
I know him as I know myself.

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que aparenta ser divino,
Tan amable y efusivo,
Solo sabe hacer sufrir.

That man that you see there
Who appears to be divine,
So kind and warm,
Only knows how to make one suffer.

Es un gran necio,
Un estúpido engreído,
Egoísta y caprichoso,
Un payaso vanidoso,
Inconsciente y presumido.
Falso, malo, rencoroso
Que no tiene corazón.

He is a big fool,
A conceited idiot,
Selfish and capricious,
A haughty clown,
Thoughtless and vain.
Fake, evil, spiteful man
Who doesn’t have a heart.

Lleno de celos
Sin razones ni motivos.
Como el viento impetuoso.
Pocas veces cariñoso.
Inseguro de sí mismo.
Insoportable como amigo,
Insufrible como amor.

Full of jealousy
Without reasons or motives.
Like the wind, impulsive.
Few times affectionate.
Unsure of himself.
Intolerable as a friend,
Insufferable as a lover.

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan amable,
Navigoso[?] y agradable,
Lo conozco como a mí.

That man that you see there
Who seems so charming,
Navigoso[?] and pleasant,
I know him as I know myself.

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan seguro
De pisar bien por el mundo,
Solo sabe hacer sufrir.

That man that you see there
Who appears so sure
Of where he steps in the world,
He only knows how to make one suffer.

Es un gran necio,
Un estúpido engreído,
Egoísta y caprichoso,
Un payaso vanidoso,
Inconsciente y presumido.
Falso, malo, rencoroso
Que no tiene corazón.

He is a big fool,
A conceited idiot,
Selfish and capricious,
A haughty clown,
Thoughtless and vain.
Fake, evil, spiteful man
Who doesn’t have a heart.

Lleno de celos
Sin razones ni motivos.
Como el viento impetuoso.
Pocas veces cariñoso.
Inseguro de sí mismo.
Insoportable como amigo,
Insufrible como amor.

Full of jealousy
Without reasons or motives,
Like the wind, impulsive.
Few times affectionate.
Unsure of himself.
Intolerable as a friend,
Insufferable as a lover.

Me engañaste con traición,
Tú no tienes corazón.
Solo sabe hacer sufrir.
Tú no tienes corazón.
Me engañaste con traición,
Tú no tienes corazón.

You tricked me with betrayal,
You have no heart.
He only knows how to make one suffer.
You have no heart.
You tricked me with betrayal,
You have no heart.

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Parece tan amable
Pero no es agradable.

That man that you see there
Who seems so kind
But he is not pleasant.

Me engañaste con traición,
Tú no tienes corazón.

You tricked me with betrayal,
You have no heart.

Pocas veces cariñoso,
En un payaso vanidoso
Que me llena de dolor.

Few times affectionate,
He is a haughty clown
Who fills me with pain.

[Musical interlude]

Tú no tienes corazón,
Tú no tienes corazón,
Tú no tienes corazón,
Tú me engañaste y me traicionaste.

You have no heart,
You have no heart,
You have no heart,
You tricked me and you betrayed me.

No te quiero ya,
Falso, malo y rencoroso,
Ya no te quiero más.
Tú me engañaste y me traicionaste,
No te quiero ya,
No no, no no, no no,
No quiero verte más (o no).

I don’t want you anymore,
Fake, evil and spiteful,
I don’t love you anymore.
You tricked me and you betrayed me,
I don’t want you anymore,
No no, no no, no no,
I don’t want to see you anymore (oh no).

Tú me engañaste y me traicionaste,
No te quiero ya,
Ya no voy a sufrir más,
Ese hombre ya se va.

You tricked me and you betrayed me,
I don’t want you anymore,
I won’t suffer anymore,
That man is out of here.

Translation Notes:

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan galante,
Tan atento y arrogante

That man that you see there
Who seems so gallant,
So attentive/kind and arrogant/presumptuous

At the first mention of arrogance, it isn’t clear how negative the song will go. Saying “tan atento” can mean “so attentive” and “so kind”, but can also suggest someone standing tall with good posture or someone very alert and observant. Together “tan atento y arrogante” might suggest someone who is standing very proud of themselves. He sounds annoying but not necessarily awful yet.

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Ese hombre que tú ves ahí…
Solo sabe hacer sufrir.

That man that you see there…
Only knows how to make one suffer.

In the second stanza, the singer make it clear that this man who seems nice is NOT NICE at all. She goes on to list all his faults and personality deficits. She lists vain twice with Spanish synonyms. I used “haughty” and “vain”.

Un payaso vanidoso,
Inconsciente y presumido.

A haughty clown,
Thoughtless and vain.

---

Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan amable,
Navigoso[?] y agradable…

That man that you see there
Who seems so charming,
Navigoso[?] and pleasant…

I have no idea what this bold line is saying with “navigoso“. I have never heard that word before, it’s not in the dictionary, and I can’t find it in slang dictionaries. I think it is mistranscribed (lyrics are wrong).

Other lyrics websites suggested alternatives “davivoso” (generous) or “vanidoso” (vain), but I listened to the Spanish song multiple times and “navigoso” is clearly closer than these alternatives. I considered maybe compound word “navi-gozo” (navi-joyous) but then what does navi means? If you speak Puerto Rican Spanish, let us know what you think in the comments.

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Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan seguro
De pisar bien por el mundo,
Solo sabe hacer sufrir.

That man that you see there
Who appears so sure
Of where he steps in the world,
He only knows how to make one suffer.

She describes the man as upperclass or someone who acts upperclass. He walks with confidence in every step, no self-doubt noticeable.

---

No te quiero ya,
Falso, malo y rencoroso,
Ya no te quiero más.

I don’t want you anymore,
Fake, evil and spiteful,
I don’t love you anymore.

The translation for “no te quiero” can be “I don’t love/want you” (either verb works). In stanzas where it wasn’t repeated, I defaulted to “want” since the lyrics are about rejecting an ex-partner who hurt them.

---

Ya no voy a sufrir más,
Ese hombre ya se va.

I won’t suffer anymore,
That man is out of here.

I won’t suffer anymore,
That man is leaving now. [*more literal]

The song ends with the singer kicking this man out of her life. She is done with him and the way he played with her heart by appearing kind and loving but actually causing pain and suffering.