TikTok is making Mala Fe’s “La Vaca” go viral. The merengue banger is now getting a new wave thanks to language-savvy social media users who are getting a kick out of translating the song’s lyrics.
Latines may know “La Vaca” as a quinceañera or wedding staple since the early 2000s. But get this: social media users are now sharing the sonic gem in different languages so others can enjoy the rhythmic classic. It all seemed to have started with Maddie’s Mundo, a TikTok user who is a translator and often uploads videos of her translating Spanish-language songs into English.
Little did she know that a video of her translating “La Vaca” would garner her viral attention. It currently has over 23.1 million views and was only posted on May 5. Later, she released a “full version” of the English translation and a video thanking her followers for helping her grow her social media platform.
Now, it looks like the catchy chorus that originally sings: “La vaca, ¡mu! / La vaca, ¡mu! / La vaca, ¡mu! / La misma vaca. Tengo una vaca lechera, una vaca de verda’ / Tengo una vaca lechera, una vaca de verda’ / No la vendo ni la cambio si usted la quiere comprar / No la vendo ni la cambio si usted la quiere comprar,” is transcending languages, going beyond Latin America.
Now, listeners can enjoy the song in German.
People can also listen to the song in Italian.
…Also Korean. A TikTok user, @beomri09, wrote: “I didn’t ever think I was going to hear La Vaca in Korean, but it’s 2024 so 😭😆.”
Náhuatl – the native language of southern Mexico and Central America – also joined the translation fun.
A Polish TikTok user also shared her version.
You can also hear it in French now.
This isn’t the first time a Spanish-language subject has gone viral. Earlier this month, the drama between Las Lavanderas also went viral thanks to social media users sharing multiple translations on TikTok.