Ketchup
When in Mexico City, we were driving around downtown with my cousins. Night lights, empty streets, and a cool breeze—we pulled into a spot outside a convenience store, and my female cousins jumped out, leaving the doors open as the music blasted. They danced to the song through choreographed gestures-kinda like The Macarena with its own signature moves. I remember being completely captivated by it. Unfortunately I forgot to ask my cousin to write down the artist’s name. And just like that, the song disappeared from my life.
Fast-forward to today…
I was watching this show on Netflix: ‘How to Get to Heaven from Belfast’, when suddenly there it was in the background from one of the scenes. It was a strange place for it to make a cameo considering the show is set in Ireland, with Irish actors and characters.
Apparently, there are two versions: Spanglish and Spanish. Have a listen-
“The Ketchup Song-Spanglish”
”The Ketchup Song-Spanish”
The Ketchup Song (Aserejé) was released by Spanish pop group Las Ketchup but the story behind this is even more interesting than the song itself.
The song tells the story of a young man named Diego who walks into a nightclub. The DJ, who happens to be a friend of Diego’s, plays Diego’s favorite song: “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang. Diego starts dancing and singing along, but instead of singing the actual lyrics, he imitates the chorus with what sounds like complete Spanish gibberish resulting in the iconic nonsense words: "Aserejé, ja, dejé..."
And here’s the interesting part: the“gibberish”isn’t actually random. It’s essentially a Spanish speaker’s phonetic, misheard interpretation of the English lyrics from “Rapper’s Delight.”
Which brings us to “Aserejé.”
Turns out, Aserejé isn’t actually a Spanish word at all. It’s a made-up, nonsensical phrase created from Diego’s phonetic imitation of the original song’s chorus.
I said a hip-hop the hippie | (Aserejé, ja, dejé)
to the hippie | (dejebet)
The hip, hip-a-hop and you don't stop | (tu dejebe)
rock it to the bang, bang the boogie | (de sei bi uno uma)
say up jump the boogie | (majavi an de bugui)
To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat. | (an de buigi, dipi)
As far as the moves go, there’s a process...
For the first dance move, the hands are held open facing down and continuously waving them over another two times for six beats.
The second involves tossing the thumb over the shoulder twice, right before spinning one's arm around each other while raising from the waistline to face level.
The last move of the dance involves placing the back of one's hand on the forehead and the palm of the other hand on the back of the head while knocking one's knees together a couple of times.
Those spontaneous nights—the ones where you step outside the rules, laugh a little louder, and simply enjoy being young—often become the memories that stay with you the longest. Sometimes, all it takes is a little playful rebellion to break the routine, shake off the weight of everyday life, and truly live in the moment.