"Waka Waka Esto Es frica" by Shakira, English translation of Spanish

version
"Waka Waka This is Africa"
Official song of FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010; June 11 - July 11
Style: Upbeat, cheerful
Country: Colombia
Listen:
Hear the FIFA World Cup 2010 official song at YouTube here. Note that Shakira has an official English
version called "Waka Waka This Time for Africa." This, however, is the translation of the Spanish version. It's
interesting to compare how different parts of the world will think of the FIFA 2010 song, since the lyrics are not
completely the same.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Llego el momento,
Caen las murallas,
Va a comenzar
La nica justa de la batallas.
The moment has come,
The walls fall,
It is going to begin,
The only one of the battles that is just.
No duele el golpe,
No existe el miedo,
Qutate el polvo,
Ponte de pie,
Y vuelves al ruedo.
The hit doesn't hurt,
Fear doesn't exist,
Dust yourself off, [*lit. Take the dust off yourself]
Get on your feet,
And you return to the arena.
Y la presin
Que sientes,
Espera en ti,
Tu gente!
And the pressure
That you feel,
They put their hope on you, [*lit. They hope on you]
Your people!
Ahora vamos por todo
Y te acompaa la suerte.
Za mina mina Zangalwa.
Porque esto es frica.
Now we go for everything
And luck accompanies you.
"Za mina mina Zangalwa."
Because this is Africa.

Za mina mina eh! eh!

Waka waka eh! eh!
Za mina mina Zangalwa.
Porque esto es frica.
Because this is Africa.
[Music bridge]
Oye tu dios y
No estars solo.
Llegas aqu
Para brillar.
Lo tienes todo.
Hear your god and
You will not be alone.
You come here
To shine.
You have it all.
La hora se acerca.
Es el momento.
Vas a ganar
Cada batalla,
Ya lo presiento.
The hour draws near.
It is the time.
You are going to win
Every battle,
I can feel it. [*lit. I already foresee it.]
Hay que empezar
De cero
Para tocar
El cielo.
One must begin
From zero
To touch
The heavens.
Ahora vamos por todo
Y todos vamos por ellos.
Za mina mina Zangalwa.
Porque esto es frica.
Now we go for everything
And everyone goes for them. [*alt. And we all go for them; "everyone" is inclusive]
"Za mina mina Zangalwa."
Because this is Africa.
Za mina mina eh! eh!
Waka waka eh! eh!
Za mina mina Zangalwa
Ana wam ah ah
Za mina mina eh! eh!
Waka waka eh! eh!
Za mina mina Zangalwa

Porque esto es frica.

Because this is Africa.
Aguelah majoni
Biki biki mah mah wa eh to zed! [A to Z]
Matis tu za la majoni
Biki biki mah mah from East to West matji
Waka waka ma eh! eh!
Waka waka ma eh! eh!
Jan es es zuma zujune [*This whole stanza is phonetically transcribed by me.]
'Cause this is Africa!
Africa...
Africa...
(Za mina mina... ana wam ah ah)
(Za mina mina...)
(Za mina mina... ana wam ah ah)
Za mina mina eh! eh!
Waka waka eh! eh!
Za mina mina Zangalwa
Ana wam ah ah.
Za mina mina eh! eh!
Waka waka eh! eh!
Za mina mina Zangalwa
Porque esto es frica.
Because this is Africa.
Jango eh eh
Jango eh eh
Za mina mina Zangalwa
Ana wam ah ah.
(x2)
Porque esto es frica. (x2)
Because this is Africa. (x2)
We're all Africa... (x2)
Translation Notes:
Some parts of the song I could not find transcribed anywhere. I took a shot at it, as much as I could. The new
transcriptions are phonetical and obviously full of mistakes. If you understand those parts, please comment!
I compiled what I could find:
Jango eh eh.
Za mina mina eh! eh!
Waka waka eh! eh!
Za mina mina Zangalwa.
Ana wam ah ah.
Wait! Eh! Eh!
Come! Come! Eh! Eh!
Do it! Do it! Eh! Eh!

Come! Come! Who sent you? / Who asked you to come?

It is mine, yes.
I put this in the translation notes since it's not actually my own translation and I cannot verify it. I just
researched it online.
Wikipedia says that it is a reference to a 1986 hit song from Cameroon. Apparently, it is a popular song for
training and rallying in Africa. That sounds right for the FIFA World Cup.
This website has an alternative translation for some of the lines.
Finally, this blog attempts to track the origins of the original song and how it spread across countries and
cultures: Around the World... Waka! Waka! Hey! Hey!
Tags: shakira
Posted on May. 31st, 2010 at 02:26 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 6 comments | Share

Comments

factfarmer3000
You're so cool!
Thanks for translating.

Posted on Jun. 5th, 2010 03:28 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Thanks! You're welcome!
Posted on Jun. 28th, 2010 06:29 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
Two parts of the phonetic translation are in English (that I can tell):
Second line ends "A (Eh) to Z (zed)"
Forth line ends with "east to west (something else...meh)"
Posted on Jun. 18th, 2010 11:49 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Hey, you're right! I momentarily highly suspected that "zed" might be Z, but I didn't recognize "eh" for A, so I
left it all phonetical.

I also didn't notice the "east to west" part. Thanks!

Posted on Jun. 28th, 2010 06:20 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

translation
go on to playlist and type in Shakira waka waka. She sings the song in english. it a little different then the
translation but close
Posted on Aug. 31st, 2010 11:58 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: translation
Yeah, I know. I mentioned the English version right after the YouTube link. Thanks, though!
Posted on Sep. 12th, 2010 04