Jennifer Lopez Marks Anniversary of 2021 ‘Freedom’ Song ‘Cambia El Paso’
Written by djfrosty on July 8, 2024
Back when she released the Spanish-language reggaeton Rauw Alejandro collaboration “Cambia El Paso” in 2021, Jennifer Lopez was coming out of a difficult time in her life. The song co-written by the two singers dropped just after Lopez split with longtime fiancé former MLB star Alex Rodriguez, and in a chat with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe at the time Lopez said the track was about moving on, pointing out that the title translates into: “change the step.”
“I’m super happy. I know people are always wondering. How are you? What’s going on? Are you OK? This is it. I’ve never been better,” she told Lowe. “And I want my people who care about me, because I care about them so much, to know that I’ve really gotten to a place in my life where I’m great on my own. And I think once you get to that place, then amazing things happen to you that you never imagine in your life happening again. And so that is where I’m at. And I love all the love that’s coming my way right now and all of the, the good wishes. And I just want everybody to know that it’s the best time. It’s the best time of my life.”
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The conversation came at a time when Lopez was spotted spending time with her former fiancé, actor Ben Affleck; after two decades apart, the two tied the knot in July 2022.
Now, the couple are reportedly going through a rough patch amid rumors of marital strife, though neither artist nor their reps have offered any public statements to date about the status of their marriage
Which is why fans were wondering about the timing of Lopez’s repost of a snippet of the “Cambia” video on Sunday. The singer titled the throwback “Happy Anniversary ‘Cambia El Paso,’” in celebration of the original July 5, 2021 release date. The brief clip features Lopez dancing and posing on the beach and city streets, rolling around in the sand in a silver bikini top and short jean shorts.
While the video only has Lopez, 54, singing the title in Spanish and lyrics about how “all she wanna do is dance, dance, dance dance,” other lines from the song have long been construed as having a not-so-subtle double-meaning. “Her life is better now without him/ He knows that his hips do not fail him/ You don’t need anyone to be well/ She doesn’t fail, she doesn’t fail,” Lopez sings on the track in Spanish in lyrics not included in the Instagram post. The homage initially featured a number of supportive comments from fans earlier in the day, but by noon on Monday (July 8) it appeared as if all comments had been removed.
Back on June 27, Lopez similarly paid tribute to another milestone in marking the 10th anniversary of her eighth studio album, A.K.A.
People noted that Sunday’s post came after Lopez appeared to spend the Fourth of July weekend in New York away from Affleck, 51, who was reportedly in Los Angeles. The last time Lopez appeared to feature Affleck in an Instagram post was on March 2 when she was promoting her documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. The two were also spotted last month, reportedly arriving separately to celebrate the graduation ceremony for the actor’s 12-year-old son, Samuel.
In the Lowe interview from 2021, Lopez further explained that “Cambia” was about “change and it is about taking a step … when things don’t feel right… To me that represents joy, happiness, life… it just represents happiness to me, because I love dancing so much because it’s kind of my first love, it represents joy, happiness, a freedom… All she wants to do is be happy. All she wants to do is live.”
Check out Lopez’s post and watch the “Cambia El Paso” video below.