DES . . . pa . . . cito! Hands up how many of you have woken up with this earworm buzzing about your brain – even if you can’t quite get your head around the rest of the rapid Latin lyrics.

The ridiculously addictive Spanish song has had everyone from Puerto Rico to Port Elizabeth dancing and singing along after it exploded onto the pop scene and became this year’s hottest hit, breaking records left, right and centre.

Not only has Despacito catapulted singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee to superstardom, it’s changed the fortunes of the folk who live in the former don’tgo-there slum where the music video was filmed. One hit song and – voila! – the place is booming.

“It’s such an honour,” Luis says. “The whole world is singing in Spanish. We have everybody googling, ‘What does despacito mean?’”

It means “slowly”, in case you’ve been living under a rock, and the lyrics are charged with none-too-subtle sexual innuendo.

But it’s feel-good fun all the way – no Spanish-language song has achieved such crossover success since Los Del Rio’s Macarena in 1996.

“It’s amazing, especially given the times we’re living in,” Luis says. “It feels as if we’re in a divided world with politics, but when you hear Despacito and you see someone who doesn’t speak Spanish trying to get the words right . . . it shows the power of music.

“We’re breaking down barriers – I think that’s the biggest win out of all of this.”

CHANGING LIVES

The video for the song’s original version was shot in La Perla, a barrio or slum area of around 1 600 people situated between Old San Juan in Puerto Rico and the sea.