# Who is the woman in the "Despacito" video? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464 "2017-08-12T21:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/1 "2017-08-12T21:06:04Z")
“Despacito” is the most watched music video in history. Who is the woman featured in it? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/2 "2017-08-12T22:55:13Z")
Zuleyka Rivera: [https://www.quora.com/Who-is-the-girl-from-the-Luis-Fonsi-music-video-“Despacito”](https://www.quora.com/Who-is-the-girl-from-the-Luis-Fonsi-music-video-%E2%80%9CDespacito%E2%80%9D) > **[r/musicpics - Who is the girl from Luis Fonsi music video, despacito ?](https://www.reddit.com/r/musicpics/comments/5pzd9y/who_is_the_girl_from_luis_fonsi_music_video/)** > > 20 votes and 39 comments so far on Reddit > **[5 Things To Know About Despacito’s Zuleyka Rivera](https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/despacito-zuleyka-rivera-5-things-to-know-7873827/)** > > After leading the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 10th week in a row and making music history by being the most streamed song ever, “Despacito” has officially taken over. While we’… > **[Zuleyka Rivera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuleyka_Rivera)** > > Zuleyka Jerrís Mendoza Rivera (born October 3, 1987) is a Puerto Rican actress, TV host, dancer, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 2006 in Los Angeles. She was previously crowned Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006. She made her debut as a telenovela actress in Mexico's Telemundo's soap opera Dame Chocolate in 2007, which was followed by several other soap opera roles. In 2017 she appeared in the music video for "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi. > Born in Cayey, she was raised in Salinas by her ... ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/3 "2017-08-24T07:20:22Z")
I never heard, or even heard of, this song until a couple hours ago. Still haven’t seen the video. But then Goigling it, I learned what an unprecedented smash it is. How did I miss this? I generally stay away from pop music, but for instance when “Call Me Maybe” blew up, I couldn’t help but be exposed to it by cultural osmosis. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/4 "2017-08-24T07:47:16Z")
To save people the trouble of googling it: [Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk) No, I’ve never heard of it either, but it currently has more hits on youtube than [Gangnam Style](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/5 "2017-08-24T09:15:44Z")
If you turned on the radio at any point during the past four or five months there was about a 90% chance this song was on. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/6 "2017-08-24T10:07:23Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > If you turned on the radio at any point during the past four or five months there was about a 90% chance this song was on. I listen to ‘the radio’ (regular FM radio) a fair amount, yet I had no idea this song existed until Kevin Drum mentioned it on his blog the other day. Maybe I should play the lottery? Or maybe there’s stations that play new music yet don’t play this song. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/7 "2017-08-24T11:00:09Z")
Every Latino/Latina on my Facebook feed has posted a video of someone singing/dancing to that song. There is one little girl that I see daily. That is my exposure to that song, since I actively avoid pop music. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/8 "2017-08-24T12:59:47Z")
Not sure why this song is so popular, it’s horrible, and the video is boring. Weird how internet phenomena happens sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/9 "2017-08-24T18:15:47Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > If you turned on the radio at any point during the past four or five months there was about a 90% chance this song was on. Pretty much. If you’ve been out in public in that time period, you must have heard it. It’s impossible to get away from, both the English and Spanish language versions. Then again, I live in a Spanish speaking neighborhood, so perhaps it’s even more popular around here. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/10 "2017-08-24T19:03:31Z")
I think it’s catchy as hell and like it but it has only been ubiquitous on the radio for the last couple of months or so so I could see how people may have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/11 "2017-08-24T20:09:58Z")
If I could cabbage a “Despacito” question onto this thread: what is the city where this was filmed? Obviously San Juan comes to mind first, but there are other cities in Puerto Rico besides San Juan. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/12 "2017-08-24T20:28:13Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > If I could cabbage a “Despacito” question onto this thread: what is the city where this was filmed? Obviously San Juan comes to mind first, but there are other cities in Puerto Rico besides San Juan. Your first thought is correct - the La Perla neighborhood of Old San Juan. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/13 "2017-08-25T02:40:24Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I listen to ‘the radio’ (regular FM radio) a fair amount, yet I had no idea this song existed until Kevin Drum mentioned it on his blog the other day. > > Maybe I should play the lottery? Or maybe there’s stations that play new music yet don’t play this song. Me too. I heard about the song, and finally heard it last week. I actually listen to the top 40 stations about 20% of the time. I think it just may not be high in the rotation during the times I listen (to and from work), or it is, and I’m just lucky enough to avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/14 "2017-08-28T01:43:05Z")
I don’t get the fame either. I’ve actually been listening a lot to an Argentinian band lately, Miranda!, so Latin music has been a part of my life. But I hadn’t heard this anywhere and still would be ignorant of it were it not for an article on [slate.com](http://slate.com). It’s a pretty basic Latin song with crisp production, and I like the singing OK. But it seems nothing exceptional in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/15 "2017-08-28T04:42:14Z")
Haven’t seen the video, but I like the song. Didn’t even know it was by Justin Bieber, who I have been indoctrinated to hate like something out of Orwell’s _1984_. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/16 "2017-08-28T05:46:16Z")
Beiber didn’t write anything in the song. He’s not in the original version of the song. He’s only in a later remix of it: > **[Despacito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despacito)** > > "Despacito" (American Spanish: \[despa'sito\]; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album Vida. Released on January 13, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, Erika Ender and Daddy Yankee, and produced by Mauricio Rengifo and Andrés Torres. A remix version featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber was released on April 17, 2017, which helped to improve the chart performance of the It i... ---
**Author:** ![Miles\_Standoffish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/54ee81/32.png) [@Miles\_Standoffish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miles_Standoffish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/17 "2017-08-28T12:10:13Z")
It’s not the worst pop song I’ve ever heard but it’s nothing special. I can hear the autotune, which makes me depressed b/c I’m too old and autotune will never go away. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/18 "2017-08-28T13:21:40Z")
I first heard of the song a week or two ago. I am not into modern pop music at all, but I like ‘Uptown Funk’ and I get the widespread appeal of ‘Gangnam Style’, but ‘Despacito’ does not stand out to me as anything out of the ordinary. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/19 "2017-08-28T14:11:37Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Beiber didn’t write anything in the song. He’s not in the original version of the song. He’s only in a later remix of it: > > [Despacito - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despacito) Ah, thanks. All the references to it I’ve seen up to now mention him. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464/20 "2017-08-28T17:07:47Z")
What an utterly unmemorable song. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-woman-in-the-despacito-video/793464.md?page=2)