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From the song La negra tiene tumba'o by Celia Cruz:

Ella baila de lado también apretado

Methinks the above contains idioms for which only a native speaker can express the meaning.

I'm not trusting that any translations that I find on the web are by native speakers.

Now, what is the meaning of this corrected lyric (Celia Cruz was Cuban).

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    what is the singer of the song? Since this sounds quite slang, please try to give some more context so we can at least listen to it, or know where the singer is from. Also, what is "methinks"?
    – fedorqui
    Jul 23, 2016 at 21:48
  • The song is by Celia Cruz (sorry of the omission,I've updated). 'Methinks' is an archaic and humorous way of saying "I think...".
    – Rock Anthony Johnson
    Jul 23, 2016 at 22:01
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    Aaaah nice! So I am learning English in the Spanish Language site : )
    – fedorqui
    Jul 23, 2016 at 22:03
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    Those lyrics would make more sense with a comma after "lado". I don't know what "bailar de lado" means but "bailar apretado" literally means "to dance tight". I've found this song by Phil Ferron, "Dancing tight", that makes me think "to dance tight" could also be idiomatic in English. Is it so?
    – Yay
    Jul 24, 2016 at 1:10

1 Answer 1

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See the lyrics, your understanding is not correct:

Esa negrita tiene su tumba'o
Y cuando la gente la va mirando
Ella baila de la'o
También apreta'o, apreta'o, apreta'o.
La negra tiene tumba'o (azuca', azuca')
Y no camina de la'o.

Ella baila de la'o es como decir que ella se mueve bien al caminar. Tiene tumba'o es como decir que tiene un aire o gracia especial al bailar. Usualmente la'o y apreta'o se usan para "lado" y "apretado".

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    could you try to expand the answer to express what is the proper understanding?
    – fedorqui
    Jul 23, 2016 at 21:58
  • Thanks, Robert, for your answer revealed I posted incorrect lyrics (I've since corrected my original post)
    – Rock Anthony Johnson
    Jul 23, 2016 at 22:12
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    Ella baila de la'o es como decir que ella se mueve bien al caminar. Tiene tumba'o es como decir que tiene un aire o gracia especial al bailar. Usualmente la'o y apreta'o se usan para "lado" y "apretado".
    – Robert
    Jul 23, 2016 at 22:16
  • @Robert Perhaps you should put your comment as an answer.
    – Rock Anthony Johnson
    Jul 24, 2016 at 2:16
  • Exactly. Robert: you can edit your original post to contain what is described in your comment. This way, the post shines as a stand-alone piece, independent of the comments.
    – fedorqui
    Jul 24, 2016 at 13:25

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