JULY 13 'DESPACITO' IS THE SONG OF THE SUMMER

JULY 13 'DESPACITO' IS THE SONG OF THE SUMMER

Just in case you haven't turned on the radio lately, there is now an official song of the summer. It's called Despacito and it's already been #1 on the pop charts for nine weeks in a row. What makes this pop song so unique is the fact that 90% of the lyrics are in Spanish. Let's go over some obvious questions.

Who sings Despacito? Like most pop hits today, there are multiple artists collaborating together on one song. Here, the main credits are split evenly been the singer (Luis Fonsi) and the rapper (Daddy Yankee). It's the first #1 single for both artists, despite the fact that both have been recording music for decades. It's NOT the first #1 for the featured artist, Justin Bieber. In fact, Justin is also at #2 on the Billboard Singles Chart as well with 'I'm the One.'

Is Despacito the first US #1 to be sung in Spanish? Actually, Despacito is the third chart-topper en español to reach the coveted #1 spot. The first one was Los Lobos' remake of 'La Bamba.' Originally sung by Richie Valens, the East LA band spent three weeks atop the charts in 1987. The second song is also very familiar: The Macarena by Los Del Rio. It spent a massive 14 weeks at #1 in 1997, making it one of the biggest tracks of all time. Love it or hate it, you'll see people dancing the Macarena at weddings, bar mitzvahs and baseball games until you die.

Does Bieber really sing in Spanish? ¡Claro que si! Actually, the original version of Despacito doesn't have the Canadian singer. But when they inserted Bieber in the remix, the song received the airplay it deserves. Originally, the plan was just to have Justin sing only in the opening and closing. Then...during the recoding session...he began to hum Fonsi's lines in Spanish. It sounded muy bueno and was inserted in the middle of the track. However, singing in Spanish is clearly a ONE-AND-DONE for the Biebs. He's been booed at concerts for inserting blah-blah instead of the real words. Fonsi has asked for fans to "give him a pass" on singing in a language he doesn't speak.

How has Despacito helped Puerto Rico? In the track, Fonsi croons: "This is how we do it down in Puerto Rico, I just wanna her you scream "¡Ay Bendito!" See, both Fonsi and Daddy Yankee were born in the US territory. The sultry video, which has 2 billion YouTube views, was shot in the La Perla district of San Juan, resulting in a wave of interest. According to COCHA, a Latin American Travel firm, tourism in Puerto Rico has increased 45% since the song's release. Hotels.com confirmed a major spike in reservations as well. We here at the DUNER BLOG aren't convinced the two are directly related, but it's a nice coincidence nonetheless.

What is the song about? Simply put, Despacito is about getting it on! Here, the song is just like every other pop song, in any language. Despacito translates as 'slowly.' As in: "I want to breathe on your neck, slowly. I want to undress you with kisses, slowly." Okay, so it doesn't have deep, introspective lyrics. But this is pop music, after all. So, go ahead, ask Alexa to play it for you and try NOT to dance...slowly.

JULY 8 WILDLIFE RESETTLEMENT IN MOZAMBIQUE IS LARGEST EVER

JULY 8 WILDLIFE RE-SETTLEMENT IN MOZAMBIQUE IS THE LARGEST EVER

This week, we're off to southeastern Africa. Here, an amazing wildlife re-settlement is currently underway. Six thousand elephants, water buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests and kudos...just to name a few...are being loaded into enormous trucks in Zimbabwe. From there, they'll travel 400 difficult miles across the border to Zinave National Park in Mozambique. The ambitious re-settlement program is unprecedented; not since Noah's Ark have humans overseen such an enormous animal migration.

Why all the fuss? Don't animals just use Uber like the rest of us? (Joke). The goal is to re-populate part of the Limpopo River Basin that has been devastated by poachers. Overseen by the Peace Parks Foundation, Operation African Animal Ark also employs 120 humans as well. Veterinarians, truck drivers, ecologists and, of course, professional game capturers are doing some pretty dangerous work. When completed by the end of the year, a delicate ecological balance will be restored.

However, not everyone thinks the ginormous re-settlement program is a good idea. Just ask Humane Society International specialist Masha Kalinina. While the Mozambique Civil War has ended, she is not convinced the current regime is strong enough to control illegal poaching. Like many African nations, the government controls the capital city but has little presence in remote areas, like Zinave National Park. They are "transporting animals so that they may die at the hands of either trophy hunters or poachers. Is this really conservation?" Kalinina wonders.

While this is a valid point, it is also an admission of defeat. Let's dig deeper into her quote. Interestingly enough, while poachers are vile in everyway, trophy hunters are not. Believe it or not, Wilfried Pabst, the owner of the Sango Wildlife Conservatory that is donating most of the animals, is one of them! Over 60% of his profits come from hunters who shell out $20,000 to shoot a lion on his land. "In remote places with a weak tourism industry it is almost impossible to run a conservancy like Sango without sustainable utilization (a euphemism for trophy hunting)." Pabst oversees one of the largest reserves in Africa, so his message really resonates.

The irony here is huge. The bottom line is that hunters are the only people on earth who actually care enough about the animals of Africa to spend money to save them. Meanwhile, the rest of the people on earth will continue to sit by and do nothing while their beloved species become extinct. Centuries from now, historians will be perplexed by the people of 2017. On one hand, African animals are in zoos, featured in countless movies and cartoons (The Lion King) and everyday sayings (Elephant in the room). Our children hug stuffed cotton toy versions and sing songs about them. Yet humans willingly let yahoo poachers (a mere .000001% of their population) kill all the real ones living in the wild. Weird, huh?