Juana Peña – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe
• Album: Cosa Nuestra

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Spanish through 'Juana Peña' offers a deep dive into urban Caribbean dialect and storytelling conventions. The song is special for its theatrical delivery, which helps students grasp the nuances of narrative structure and emotional phrasing in Latin music.

[English]

She was a woman who had deceived many men

But one day a man came along who betrayed her with a kiss

And that man didn't truly love her, and that's why Juana Peña cried

And they say the years passed by like falling snow

She kept on crying for that love that never arrived

Oh Juana Peña, now you're crying for me, now you're crying for me, but I don't love you

She was beautiful but treacherous, you see

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Oh Juana Peña, now she's crying for me

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Eh, she has no heart and there's no cure for her

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Eh, Juana Peña

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Now, now she's crying for me

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

I don't love you anymore, get out, get out, you drunkard

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

She was treacherous, she was treacherous

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Eh eh eh, Juana Peña

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Eh

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Eh, don't cry for me, don't cry for me anymore

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Come, come, come, come, come, Juana Peña, now

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Aeh aeh aeh... traitor

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

Eh, don't cry for me anymore, don't cry for me anymore

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

I don't love you, I don't love you, you traitor

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

(Juana Peña is crying for me now)

...

[Spanish]

Ella era una mujer que a muchos hombres había engañado

Pero un dia vino un hombre que con un beso la traiciono

Y ese hombre no la habia querido y por ese fue que juana peña lloro

Y dicen que los años como la nieve fueron pasando

Ella seguía llorando por ese amor que nunca llego

Ay juana peña ahora me lloras ahora me lloras y no te quiero yo

Era bonita pero traidora, tu ve

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Ay juana peña ahora me llora

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Eh no tiene corazón y le falta solución

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Eh juana peña

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Ahora ahora me llora

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Ya no te quiero fuera fuera borrachona

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Era traidora era traidora

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Eh eh eh juana peña

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Eh

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Eh que no me llores que no me llores mas

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Ven ven ven ven ven juana peña ahora

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Aeh aeh aeh... traidora

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Eh que no me llore mas que no me llores mas

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Que no te quiero que no te quiero traidora

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

(Juana peña ahora me llora)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mujer muˈxer A1	noun - woman
engañado eŋgaˈɲaðo B1	verb - to deceive / to cheat
beso ˈbeso A2	noun - kiss
traicionó tɾajisiˈon B2	verb - to betray
lloró ʝoˈɾo A2	verb - to cry
nieve ˈnjewe A2	noun - snow
amor aˈmoɾ A1	noun - love
bonita boˈnita A1	adjective - pretty / beautiful
traidora tɾaidoˈɾa B2	noun - traitor (female) adjective - treacherous
corazón koɾaˈθon A2	noun - heart
solución soluˈθjon B1	noun - solution
borrachona bɾatʃoˈna C1	adjective - drunkard / heavy drinker

Key Grammar Structures

• Ella era una mujer que a muchos hombres había engañado

  ➔ Past Perfect (Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto)

  ➔ The structure "había engañado" describes an action completed before another past action.

• Un día vino un hombre que con un beso la traicionó

  ➔ Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido)

  ➔ The verbs "vino" and "traicionó" indicate specific, completed actions in the past.

• Ese hombre no la había querido y por ese fue que Juana Peña lloró

  ➔ Cleft Sentence (Construcción enfática)

  ➔ The structure "fue que..." is used to emphasize the cause or the reason for the crying.

• Dicen que los años como la nieve fueron pasando

  ➔ Periphrastic construction (Estar/Ir + Gerundio)

  ➔ The structure "fueron pasando" denotes a gradual, continuous progression of time.

• Ella seguía llorando por ese amor que nunca llegó

  ➔ Continuity (Seguir + Gerundio)

  ➔ "Seguía llorando" indicates that the action of crying continued over a period of time.

• Juana Peña ahora me lloras

  ➔ Direct Object Pronoun (Me)

  ➔ "Me" functions as the direct object indicating who receives the action of "llorar" (though intransitive, here implies crying for me).

• Que no me llores que no me llores más

  ➔ Negative Imperative / Subjunctive (Subjuntivo)

  ➔ The use of "no llores" (Subjunctive present) is standard for negative commands in Spanish.

• Que no te quiero que no te quiero traidora

  ➔ Stative Verb (Querer)

  ➔ "Te quiero" expresses a state of affection, which when negated, expresses the withdrawal of love.