Time, life and death are on Residente’s mind. The Puerto Rican rapper, of the now defunct Calle 13, has created an ethereal ballad oozing with hope, tragedy, love and the finite reminder of our mortality. Song of the year. An absolutely stunning single of Beatle-sque magnitude.

The song begins with actress Penelope Cruz performing a poetic monologue over a female chorus stanza counting. Cruz delivers lines such “Nacemos y aprendemos a ser hijos del tiempo..” while hymns and piano work build to a bittersweet whimsy realization that, “Para que nunca sea siempre, Para que seamos infinitos..”

And the ballad has only begun. Residente, inspired by the lost of a dear friend recently, delivers devastating verse after verse. He paints the imagery of lost love, rolling beach waves that forever flow in heaven. Dramatic strings and piano help fill in Residente’s canvas.

“Y viajé cuando me vieron
Porque son como los cielos que se abrieron
Porque nunca están vacíos
Están llenos de corrientes como cuando se desborda el río…”

Residente challenges our hearts, our being, our human condition but never our ears as he perfectly balances a rapper’s sensibility with a traditional ballad performance. This equilibrium is relevant as he repeats his final words “No quiero que se acabe…” which are in turn taken over by Spanish singer Silvia Perez Cruz. As she bellows over the familiar piano, the sound of a violin, by Noemi Gasparini, gently compliments her vocals. The single violin becomes a solo and lifts the listener to the infinite space reality of no time, only eternal love. A sonic masterpiece that begs the audience to play over and over.

“Para que nunca sea siempre
Para que seamos infinitos.”