Kpop

MAMACITA MEANING

Let’s start with the good, first: I enjoyed the song itself. The brass throughout “Mamacita,” particularly the opening section, is fun and different from the typical electro-pop that Super Junior does and is just the great mature sound that I’ve been wanting for them. Plus, Kyuhyunand Ryeowook fill the song with fantastic ad libs that add a nice contrast to the almost harsh sound of the music.

When I get to the lyrics though, I get uneasy. “Mamacita” is about Super Junior trying to end what seems to have been a very aggressive dispute with a girl, the “Mamacita” of the song.

Were you expecting us to be Superman?

This world is good enough to play in, right?

If you do as you always did, go as you always went

There’s no way you’ll stick out and be hit by a hammer

The aggression wouldn’t be more than just surprising if it weren’t for the fact that this song is called “Mamacita” and obviously alludes to its Latin influences. As a Latina myself, I can’t deny that I was excited to hear that Super Junior would be doing something with a Latin influence, but I was also wary, considering how other K-pop groups have done before. And unfortunately, Super Junior follows their footsteps in using ethnic stereotypes.

The media often misrepresents Latina women as always being fiery and hot-tempered in some attempt to make them sexual; the portrayal of them as passionate and spicy is not to give them agency but rather to fetishize them. Their attempt at “independence” with their loud voices and heated fighting is there so that men can get off on it. They remain objects.

The song plays into that stereotype with the lyrics by attributing these qualities to the girl with whom they’ve been arguing to make her sexy or “exotic.” Throw in the “ayaya” of the chorus (also the Korean title), and things get increasingly murky. Referring to the expression that Latinos occasionally use — “ay ay ay” — the track again uses ethnic stereotypes because, contrary to popular...