Tan cateto, a reply to the people who glare at you in the street

«Pero ¿cómo puede ser usted tan cateto?» ("But how can you be such a bumpkin, sir?") The chorus question is polite in form, with its courteous «usted», and devastating in substance. I love that contrast, because it's exactly the tone many of us wish we had when someone points at us in the street.

The lyrics run through what bothers this gentleman, or lady, watching from the outside. That we hold hands. That my boyfriend is African. That their children see a kiss. That I have this face. They're such everyday things that the list becomes absurd as soon as you read it in one go, and that's the point: the list itself portrays the person taking offence.

I really like the images of authority the song gives him. He points the finger like an accusing judge. He covers his children's eyes like a good dictator. He wants the narrator locked up. He's a character who thinks he has the right to watch and to punish, and the song knocks him off that pedestal with a single word: «espectador», onlooker. I won't take advice from any onlooker. In other words: you watch, but you have no part in my life.

There's also a line that works as the end of any argument: I'm not going to give you any more explanations. And another that sounds like ironic resignation: I know your mind has its limitations. No shouting, no heavy insults. Just «cateto» and «paleto», two good old words for a small-minded hick that sting exactly where it hurts.

The song is also about an interracial couple, and that adds another layer. The rejection isn't only because they're two men, but also because of the skin colour of one of them. The answer is the same for everything: keep holding hands.

I dedicate it to all the couples who've felt stares on the metro, on a café terrace or at the beach. And to whoever is staring, too, in case they recognise themselves. Put it on before you go out for a walk with your partner and squeeze their hand a little tighter.

The full lyrics are below. Listen on Spotify