"Vente Pa' Ca" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, featuring a guest appearance from Colombian singer Maluma. It was co-written by Ricky Martin, Maluma, Nermin Harambašić, Anne Judith Wik, Ronny Svendsen, Carl Ryden, ChiefOne, Mau y Ricky and Justin Stein, while the production was handled by Alexander Castillo. The song was released for digital download and streaming as a single by Sony Music Latin on September 23, 2016. It is a Spanish language reggaeton and pop song, and it contains various sexual innuendos. The song received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its danceable rhythm and fusion of genres. It was ranked as one of the best Latin songs of the year by multiple publications, including The Guardian.
The song was nominated for the awards of Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Vente Pa' Ca" was one of the most commercially successful Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, including Argentina and Mexico, as well as the top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. Additionally, it was ranked among the top 10 best performing songs of 2017 in six Latin American countries. The song has received several certifications, including quadruple platinum in Spain.
An accompanying music video, released simultaneously with the song, was directed by Jessy Terrero and filmed at the SLS South Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. It depicts several parties in different locations in the hotel and has received over 1.9 billion views on YouTube. To promote "Vente Pa' Ca", Martin and Maluma performed it on several television programs and award shows, including both the Premio Lo Nuestro and the Premios Juventud in 2017. Multiple contestants on various music talent shows have covered the song, including Patricia Manterola and Màxim Huerta. Several remixes and other versions have accompanied the song, such as English versions featuring Delta Goodrem, and Wendy of Red Velvet. The latter reached number one on Melon's international music chart.
Background and release On August 23, 2016, Ricky Martin and Maluma shared a photo of themselves together in Miami, Florida, and announced that they were collaborating on a song together, which would be titled "Vente Pa' Ca". The following day, Billboard revealed the single's release date in an article and mentioned that the song was originally titled "Some Kind of Dream" in English, and was later reverted to Spanish. The article also affirmed that it was Martin's idea to invite Maluma to collaborate for the track. In an interview with El Nuevo Día, Maluma told the newspaper about this collaboration:
On September 18, 2016, Martin shared the artwork for the single on his social media. The song was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin on September 23, 2016, as a single, marking the first collaboration between Martin and Maluma. In an interview with Billboard, Maluma told the magazine: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry."
Music and lyrics
Musically, "Vente Pa' Ca" is a Spanish language upbeat reggaeton and pop song, written by Justin Stein, Martin, Maluma, Nermin Harambašić, Anne Judith Wik, Carl Ryden, ChiefOne, Mau y Ricky, and Ronny Svendsen. Its production was handled by Alexander Castillo, and the song features elements of vallenato and Latin music. The track runs for a total of 4 minutes and 19 seconds, and Billboard described it as "a party track set over a sultry reggaetón beat".
Lyrically, "Vente Pa' Ca" which translates to "Come Here" in English, contains various sexual innuendos, with lyrics including, "Si tú quieres nos bañamos / Si tú quieres nos soplamos / Pa secarnos lo mojao / Si tu boca quiere beso / Y tu cuerpo quiere de eso / Arreglamos" (If you want we can swim / If you want we can dry ourselves / If your mouth wants a kiss / And your body wants that / Then we can manage).
Critical reception Upon release, "Vente Pa' Ca" was met with universal acclaim from music critics. A writer of Clarín wrote that Martin and Maluma "made several generations dance" with the lyrics of the song. An author of Europa Press described the song as "a single that aims to delve into Latin rhythms and make all of Latin America dance". The Guardian staff named the song a "great record that just makes you want to dance". At Culture Leisure, an author described "Vente Pa' Ca" as "a song with a danceable rhythm that perfectly blends the pop and urban genres". An author of LatinPop Brasil called it "a delicious fusion of rhythms". Los 40 staff described Martin and Maluma as the "Latin Duo of the Year" and stated that they "join forces in the Latin theme" by excellence of 2016, and continued: "Very attentive to this 'Vente Pa' Ca', because it has all the ballots to be the next disco bombshell." Brittny Pierre from Vibe acclaimed the song as "a fun party track". Griselda Flores from Billboard gave the song a positive review, saying it "has us feeling like it's summer all over again". In another article, she named the song "one of the hottest collabs of summer 2016". In his review for Direct Lyrics, Kevin Apaza applauded the song, saying: "It is very catchy, and no doubt clubs in Miami, Latin America and Spain will play it non stop this fall/winter season."
Evan Slead from Entertainment Weekly celebrated the song, labeling it "a modern anthem". Writing for O, The Oprah Magazine, Amanda Mitchell ranked the track as Martin's seventh best song on her 2019 list. Also from O, The Oprah Magazine, Celia Fernandez ranked the track as Maluma's sixth best song on her 2019 list. Suzette Fernandez from Billboard credited it as the song that helped Maluma "to establish his name within the Latin market" and ranked the track among his best collaborations ever. Tommy Calle from Hoy labeled the song "[a] mega hit", and Rolling Stones Elias Leight labeled it "a billion-views global ear-worm featuring a cheerful appearance from Maluma". Noelia Bertol from Cadena Dial ranked it as one of "Ricky Martin six collaborations that have us moving the skeleton", going on to observe "the way to unite two of the most acclaimed voices in Latin music", and said that the song "met all our expectations, at least!" In another article, she listed the track among his ten "songs that brighten up summers". An author of Cultura Colectiva called it a "hit that's very hard to resist". In his review for Vogue, Esteban Villaseñor ranked the song among Martin's most popular songs.
Accolades In October 2016, The Guardian placed "Vente Pa' Ca" on their "The 20 best Latin American records of the past 12 months" list. Musica Roots ranked the track as the third Top Latin Song of 2016 and Teletrece ranked it at number 11 on their "15 songs that marked 2016" list. Metro Puerto Rico placed the track on an unranked list of the most listened songs of the 2010s, and Amazon Music ranked it as the 42nd Best Latin song of the decade. Also, NBC News ranked the track at number five on their list of "10 Top Latino Songs to Get You Moving". "Vente Pa' Ca" has received a number of awards and nominations. It was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, but lost to "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee in the categories.
+Awards and nominations for "Vente Pa' Ca" Organization Year Award Result Latin Music Italian Awards2016Best Latin Song of The YearBest Latin Male Video of The YearBest Latin Collaboration of The YearASCAP Latin Awards2017Pop Winning SongLatin American Music AwardsFavorite Song — Pop/RockLatin Grammy Awards Record of the Year Song of the YearMTV Millennial AwardsSong of the YearPremios Juventud Perfect Combo Best Song For SingingPremios QuieroBest Pop VideoBMI Latin Awards2018Latin Publisher of the YearAward Winning Songs
Commercial performance "Vente Pa' Ca" was one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016. The song debuted at number four on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart on October 15, 2016, with a first-week tally of 5,000 downloads sold, 1.1 million streams, and 14 million radio impressions. Thus, it became Martin's 27th top 10 on the chart and Maluma's third. The song also debuted at number one on both the US Latin Digital Song Sales and Latin Airplay charts, becoming Martin's second and Maluma's first number one on the former. On the latter, it became Martin's 16th crowning hit and Maluma's third, making Martin continue to hold the second-most number ones on the list, trailing only Enrique Iglesias. The song later peaked at number one on both the Latin Pop Airplay and Tropical Airplay charts, becoming Martin's 11th number one and Maluma's first on the former, and Martin's fifth number one and Maluma's third on the latter. Additionally, it reached number seven on the US Latin Streaming Songs on January 21, 2017, and has since become Martin's longest-charting hit, spending 39 weeks on the chart. The song finished 2017 as the 16th biggest hit on the US Latin Streaming Songs year-end chart.
Besides the United States, "Vente Pa' Ca" hit the charts in several European countries, including the top 20 in the Netherlands and Hungary. In Italy and Switzerland, the song was certified platinum and double platinum by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), for track-equivalent sales of over 50,000 and 60,000 units, respectively. In Spain's El portal de Música chart, it debuted at number 29 on October 2, 2016. The song subsequently peaked at number two on the chart for four consecutive weeks, being held off the top spot by "La Bicicleta" (2016) by Carlos Vives and Shakira in its first week, and by "Safari" (2016) by J Balvin in the next three weeks. "Vente Pa' Ca" was later certified quadruple platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE), for track-equivalent sales of over 160,000 units in the country. In Latin America, it peaked at number one in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay, and reached the top 10 in Colombia, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Venezuela, and on the Monitor Latino Latin America chart. The track was later ranked as one of the top 10 best performing songs of 2017 in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, and Uruguay. In Mexico, the song was certified diamond + triple platinum + gold by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON), for track-equivalent sales of over 510,000 units. It was also certified triple platinum by Pro-Música Brasil for track-equivalent sales of over 180,000 units in Brazil. Additionally, it was certified gold by the Music Canada, for track-equivalent sales of over 40,000 units in Canada.
Music video