In short – ‘la vida loca’ literally translates to ‘the crazy life’ in English, and it’s a common Spanish expression, popularized worldwide by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin´s number one single ‘Livin’ la vida loca’.
Even though the song – released in 1999 – spread the phrase to non-Spanish speaking countries, the truth is ‘la vida loca’ as an expression was already used in Latin America …
… though not so much to refer to the sultry, carefree lifestyle depicted in Ricky Martin’s music video, but rather to the gangster way of life, which inspired Allison Anders’ movie ‘Mi vida loca’ (or ‘My crazy life’) in 1994, way before the beloved ‘Livin’ la vida loca’ waltzed its way onto the global scene.
Nowadays, the phrase has become part of meme culture.
If you’re at all curious about this expression, you’re definitely in for a treat as I´m here to tell you all there is to know about ‘la vida loca’.
Let´s get into it!
Uses / Meanings of ‘la vida loca’
‘La vida loca’ can be used in the following ways –
- To refer to a luxurious, decadent and/or rebellious way of life
- To refer to the gangster lifestyle, especially that pertaining to the Mara Salvatrucha
- As a sarcastic phrase in meme culture
To refer to a luxurious, decadent and/or rebellious way of life
After Ricky Martin’s number one hit, ‘la vida loca’ became a way of describing a carefree lifestyle, full of glamour and excitement.
Fragmento de ‘Livin’ la vida loca’ (version en español)
She’s livin’ la vida loca. Te besa y te* desnuda con su baile demencial.
Fragment from ‘Livin’ la vida loca’ (Spanish version)
She’s livin’ la vida loca. She kisses and undresses you with her crazy dance.
Una amiga regresa de gira con su banda de rock
Jaime – ¿Cómo les fue de tour?
Mayra – ¡Increíble! Vivimos la vida loca.
A friend returns from tour with her rock band
Jaime – How was the tour?
Mayra – Amazing! It was pretty wild.
*Erika´s top tip – note that the indirect object pronoun ‘te‘ is used and NOT the subject pronoun ‘tú‘; be sure to check out our article on ‘te’ vs ‘tu’ if you still muddle the two up on occasion!
To refer to the gangster lifestyle, especially that pertaining to the Mara Salvatrucha
The international criminal gang, the Mara Salvatrucha (also known as the MS-13), began in Los Angeles during the 80s, but rapidly spread to Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and many other countries.
‘La vida loca’ is an expression used by the Mara Salvatrucha and other Hispanic gangs to describe a lifestyle of crime.
It can be found recurrently through symbolism in gang tattoos.
Tatuaje común entre los miembros de la pandilla
‘Perdona, madre mía, por mi vida loca.’
Common tattoo amongst gang members
‘Forgive me, Mother, for this crazy life.’
As a sarcastic phrase in meme culture
Of course, meme culture always sees the positive or humorous side of life, and its treatment of ‘la vida loca’ is no exception.
A quick scour of the Internet brings up tons of memes with the phrase ‘la vida loca’ pasted across images that depict the exact opposite of a crazy, rebellious life.
It’s basically a way of saying that a person or situation is anything but ‘la vida loca’.
En la oficina
Andy – ¿Por qué llegaste tarde? ¿Te fuiste de jarra?
Sasha – No … Me quedé viendo un tutorial sobre programación robótica.
Andy – ¡Uy! ¡Qué vida tan loca!
In the office
Andy – Why were you late? Did you go out last night?
Sasha – No … I was watching a tutorial on robotic programming.
Andy – Oof! What a crazy life!
‘La vida loca‘ pronunciation
Let’s break it down into syllables:
‘La’ sounds like ‘lah’.
‘Vi’ sounds like the word ‘bee’.
To say ‘da’, open the mouth wide, as if to say ‘dah’.
‘Ca’ also has a very long, clear sound, like ‘kah’.
/ Lah bee-dah loh-kah /
Similar expressions to ‘la vida loca‘
La pura gozadera
The word ‘gozadera’ derives from ‘gozo’ (or ‘joy’ in English), and basically means a ‘wild party’ or a pleasurable time.
Pau – ¿Has sabido algo de Alfonso? No sé cómo esté después de su divorcio …
Enrique – ¡Uy, no sabes! ¡Ahora se la vive en la pura gozadera!
Pau – Have you heard from Alfonso? I don’t know how he’s doing after his divorce …
Enrique – You don’t know the half of it! Now he’s partying super hard!
Darle vuelo a la hilacha
‘Hilacha’ means a ‘loose thread’, so this phrase is used to describe someone who acts without thinking about the consequences …
… basically a ‘loose thread’ in human form.
¿Otra vez reprobaste, Martín? ¡Tú solo quieres darle vuelo a la hilacha!
Did you fail again, Martín? You just do as you please!
Andar loqueando
The word ‘Loqueando’ doesn’t actually exist, but this doesn’t deter Latin Americans from whipping it out once in a while!
‘Andar loqueando’ means something akin to ‘screwing around’ and it’s used when people behave in a promiscuous way or when they party hard.
Dicen que Luis se la pasa loqueando en el bar todos los viernes.
They say Luis is screwing around at the bar every Friday.
Final thoughts
Whether you’re actually living a wild, adventurous life, or a more tranquil life with small – but fulfilling – excitements, you can use ‘la vida loca’ to describe those moments full of vibrancy and joy!
Hopefully I’ve cleared up any doubts you may’ve had about its different meanings and uses … perhaps you´ll even give it a go next time you go out partying with your Latin American friends!
If you still haven´t sated your appetite for all things Spanish, then I strongly recommend you give our article on the word ‘mamacita‘ a quick once over (trust me, you´re gonna love it!).
¡Hasta pronto!