Behind the song of summer: The 'Despacito' remix isn't just about sex. It's also a counterpoint to anti-Latino rhetoric
The opening flourish of guitar-like cuatro is instantly recognizable, a gentle but effective means of telling you what you might've assumed to be true even before the song began: You're about to hear the remix of "Despacito."
Again.
Unavoidable over the last few months on both the Internet and Top 40 radio, this sleek _ and surprising _ collaboration between Justin Bieber and two of Puerto Rico's biggest stars, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, is without question the song of the summer.
It's sold more than 2 million downloads. It's been streamed on Spotify nearly 800 million times. And so far it's spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 _ longer than any song except one: Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day," which logged 16 weeks atop the music industry's most closely watched singles chart in 1995 and 1996.
"If you'd told me a
