This is the incredible meaning in English of Paquita la del Barrio’s famous song “Rata de dos patas”
The Mexican singer-songwriter, whose tracks took aim at misbehaving male lovers, has died at the age of 77.
The Mexican singer Paquita la del Barrio, an artist best known for tracks that called out the mistreatment of women at the hands of their male romantic partners, has died at the age of 77, it has been announced.
Posted on her Instagram profile on Monday, a statement confirmed that the singer-songwriter, whose real name was Francisca Viveros Barradas, passed away at her home in Veracruz, Mexico.
Describing Paquita la del Barrio as a “unique and irreplaceable artist”, the statement said: “She will leave an indelible mark on the hearts of all who knew her and enjoyed her music […].
“Rest in peace, your music and legacy will live in on our hearts forever.”
What was Paquita la del Barrio’s cause of death?
A representative of Paquita la del Barrio has confirmed to the music publication Billboard that she died of a heart attack while she was asleep.
Which songs is Paquita la del Barrio best known for?
A musician whose stage name translates as “Paquita from the neighborhood”, she specialized in taking aim at “abusive husbands, impotent lovers and cheating boyfriends”, the Miami Herald’s Liza Gross wrote in a 2008 profile of the Mexican.
Speaking to Gross, Paquita la del Barrio said: “I am defending women. It is very important. I am a woman. I speak of my experiences.”
Notably, the singer drew on the infidelity of her second husband, Alfonso Martínez, to write the hit track “Rata de dos patas”, whose title translates as “Two-legged rat”.
The song’s devastatingly biting lyrics include the lines: “Two-legged rat / I’m talking to you / Because a crawling bug / Even the most evil one / Compared to you / Pales into tiny insignificance / You damn leech / You damn cockroach / That infects everything it bites / That hurts and kills / You vermin / You poisonous snake / You piece of life’s garbage / I hate you and I scorn you.”
Discussing “Rata de dos patas” in April 2023, the El País journalist Almudena Barragán wrote: “Never before or since has infidelity proved so profitable, or revenge so sweet. Dedicated to all the men who have hurt her, the song became a veritable anthem.”
Paquita la del Barrio’s most popular songs also include similar ‘diss’ tracks aimed at men, such as “Me saludas a la tuya” (“Say hello to your girl for me”), “Tres veces te engañé” (“Three times I cheated on you”) and “Tu última parada” (“Your last stop”).
In “Tu última parada,” she sings: “I found out that you think you’re a luxury bus and you’re full of female passengers every day / I see they haven’t discovered that your tires are flat / That if you go uphill your engine gives out.”
Recording Academy pays tribute to “unparalleled performer”
During her more than five-decade career, Paquita la del Barrio was nominated for three Grammy Awards and two Latin Grammys.
“We mourn the passing of an iconic voice of Mexican music,” the Latin Recording Academy said in a statement on Monday, describing her as an “unparalleled performer” who “leaves an unforgettable legacy in Latin music”.
Lamentamos el fallecimiento de una voz icónica de la música mexicana: Paquita la del Barrio, nominada al #LatinGRAMMY y al #GRAMMY, deja un legado inolvidable en la música latina con su inigualable interpretación. Descanse en paz. pic.twitter.com/PwwN8Xgfm4
— The Latin Recording Academy / Latin GRAMMYs (@LatinGRAMMYs) February 17, 2025
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