Released: 2024
“Santa” by Rvssian, featuring Rauw Alejandro and Ayra Starr, is a saucy track that presents a love story shrouded in desire and seduction. It portrays the contradictory yet complementary elements of desire, using religious imagery to communicate the intoxicating allure of the song’s subject.
The song kicks off with Rauw Alejandro’s Spanish verses, expressing an insatiable longing for the woman he’s singing about. When he repeats, “Este deseo no lo puedo negar”, it taps into the universal theme of irresistible attraction. The phrase translates to, “I can’t deny this desire,” emphasizing his fervent yearning. He refers to the woman as both his “santa” (saint) and “diabla” (devil), capturing the intoxicating dichotomy that often comes with intense love and attraction.
Ayra Starr then carries the lyrical baton with her vivid English verses, where she asks the lover to ‘touch her body’, alluding to physical intimacy. The phrase “daily dose of the vitamin C” could be a clever reference to the feel-good hormones released during physical closeness. It’s clear from lines like “Rough off the bed, every time that it goes down” that there’s a sensual undertone running through this song.
Then comes Rvssian’s verse which takes the narrative forward. He assures the woman that he’s not like her ex-lover and openly confesses his love. He uses phrases like “Mamita, las pena’ quiero curarte,” translating to, “Baby, I want to heal your sorrows,” establishing his role as the more nurturing partner.
Ayra Starr returns to bring the song to a close, repeating her verses. She asserts her position with lyrics like “Oh, my baby, do me like ogbono,” potentially referencing the potent African soup known for its stickiness, reflecting how deeply she wants to be involved with her lover. She also uses the phrase “I move to your rhythm and bass,” to suggest an emotional synchrony between her and her lover.
The song loops back to Rauw Alejandro’s initial, impassioned verses to close the track, driving home the dichotomy of the saint-devil imagery once more. “Santa” oscillates between sacrosanct devotion and devilish seduction, painting an all-too-familiar picture of the extremes of desire and attraction in a relationship.
