Julieta Venegas: “Lento” (2003)
Imagine pulling a 20-year-old CD from your collection that somehow went in one ear and out the other on first listen but now completely blows your pop-leaning musical mind.
Imagine lamenting, at age 60, that all the music you love most was that which you discovered before you turned 16, and that you may never again be touched that deeply by something new–only to have a woman who sings in a language you don’t even know crash into the circle of your most revered and hallowed handful of artists.
Imagine falling in love with a voice, a melody, a clever confection of an arrangement, only to translate a Spanish lyric into English out of curiosity and fall ever deeper in love, over and over and over again, song after song after amazing song.
For me over the past year or so, the unimaginable happened.
Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas produces Spanish language pop rock that, while touching on traditional Latin and Mexican musical styles here and there, basically falls between categories.
This lack of genre identification seems to free up Venegas to let the lyric, message or mood of a song determine its sound. Sometimes the vibe is indie pop, sometimes it’s rap-infused and bass-heavy, and sometimes it’s pure sugary pop. At times it’s uptempo and bouncy, at others it’s spare and brooding.
But it’s always thoughtfully arranged with co-producers Cachorro López and Coti Sorokin deserving credit (Sorokin also has co-writing credits on many cuts).
The more of Julieta Venegas’ songs you hear, and the more times you hear them, the more her undeniable songwriting talent impresses. Her gifts are on par with far better-known songwriters, the kind whose songs have received millions of plays over four or five decades in this country.
The production adds another layer of listening bliss. Check out the subtle 4-chord progression on guitar at the 27-second mark. It’s the kind of musical frosting on the cake you may only hear on the tenth listen.
So many times I’ve thought “it wouldn’t have been as good if the bass didn’t come in right there” or “it’s just a bit tastier with the handclaps on top of the percussion” or “nice touch to kill the vocal reverb and go with drier vocals on that bit for emphasis”.
Venegas has won 9 Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, received a Master of Latin Music Award from Berklee College, and has been recognized as a major influence on a generation of Latino songwriters.
She’s proficient on 17 different instruments and is a bit of a badass on accordion.
“Lento” is hardly the last thing you’ll see or hear from her on this site. And although the above version of is definitive, it’s the MTV Unplugged version–with Venegas seated at the piano, a sympathetic string arrangement and backup vocals–that truly gets to the heart of the song.
(If the video below has been removed by the time you read this, do yourself the favor of finding it on YouTube.)
I actually choke up every time I hear the crowd burst into spontaneous applause after each chorus, as if to thank Venegas for the gift of the beautiful sentiment of the song.
It’s one of the most affecting musical moments I’ve ever witnessed.
Lento (Slow)
Si quieres un poco de mí If you want a little of me
Me deberías esperar You should wait for me
Y caminar a paso lento And walk at a slow pace
Muy lento Very slow
Y poco a poco olvidar And little by little forget
El tiempo y su velocidad Time and its speed
Frenar el ritmo Slowing down the pace
Ir muy lento, más lento Go very slow, more slowly
Se delicado y espera Be gentle and wait
Dame tiempo para darte Give me time to give you
Todo lo que tengo Everything I’ve got
Si quieres un poco de mí If you want a little of me
Dame paciencia y verás Give me patience and you’ll see
Será mejor que andar corriendo It’ll be better than running
Levantar vuelo Taking flight
Y poco a poco olvidar And little by little forget
El tiempo y su velocidad Time and its speed
Frenar el ritmo Slowing down the pace
Ir muy lento, cada vez más lento Going very slow, slower and slower
Se delicado y espera Be gentle and wait
Dame tiempo para darte Give me time to give you
Todo lo que tengo Everything I’ve got
Si me hablas de amor If you talk to me about love
Si suavizas mi vida If you soften my life
No estaré más tiempo I won’t be around any longer
Sin saber que siento Without knowing what I feel
Se delicado y espera Be gentle and wait
Dame tiempo para darte Give me time to give you
Todo lo que tengo Everything I’ve got
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/11/15/recommended-albums-101/
Every Moment Has A Song 