Aventura and Don Omar’s “Ella y Yo” is still scorchin’ hot 20 years later

In the 20 years since its release, no other song in the history of reggaeton has invoked the same Shakespearean caliber of melodrama as Aventura’s “Ella y Yo,” which featured Puerto Rican MC Don Omar.

The lustful reggaeton-bachata song about a twisted love affair would shock fans upon its release in the spring of 2005. Produced in a telenovela fashion, the music video featured Don Omar and Aventura frontman Romeo Santos confiding in each other about their love lives in a bar. What opened as a heart-to-heart between friends — one of whom described having an affair with a married woman — would eventually culminate in an earth-shattering reveal.

“Salí con tu mujer,” professed Don Omar to Santos. “I went out with your wife!”

To this, Santos responded with a convincingly seething damnation. “Que te perdone Dios, yo no lo voy a hacer” — “May God forgive you, because I will not!”

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Contrary to the premise of the song, the making of “Ella y Yo” was a testament to the powerful kinship between the two Caribbean acts. In an interview with GQ México y Latinoamérica, Don Omar revealed how he frequented the same place as the four members of Aventura when he first arrived in New York City. The Puerto Rican singer first learned of the bachata group after purchasing a pirated disk of their live performances while visiting the Dominican Republic.

While there was no initial concept behind the collaboration, the lyrics began to flow once Eliel, the popular reggaeton producer behind many of Don Omar’s hits, composed the beat.

“There are very few times that I try to write [songs],” said Don Omar in the interview. “I try to get to the studio to see if the inspiration comes and if the music inspires me and that was one of those nights where it did.”

The song was released as a single from Aventura’s fourth studio album, “God’s Project,” released on April 26, 2005, which is largely considered the group’s breakthrough record. It was also included in Don Omar’s compilation album, “Da Hitman Presents Reggaetón Latino,” which came out on Dec. 6, 2005.

Although the track barely cracked into the Billboard Hot 100 for only one week at No. 97, it was the first song to hit the U.S. mainstream chart for both Don Omar and Aventura — a clear indicator of its resonance with Latino audiences at the time. The official YouTube video, which was uploaded in 2019, has over 812 million views to date.

Following their joint hit, the artists remained in close collaboration with each other. Aventura opened for Don Omar’s first tour to promote his sophomore studio album, “King of Kings,” that ran between 2006 and 2007. In a concert review by former L.A. Times writer Agustin Gurza, the writer recounts the two singers simulating a fight over the woman in the song, which added a layer of comedic relief to an otherwise tense duet.

“When [Don Omar] shakes his hand to make amends, his rival [Santos] asks, ‘Should I shake his hand even though he stole my woman?’” writes Gurza. “The crowd wildly cheers its approval and the two artists embrace.”

The two duked it out on stage again during Aventura’s legendary “Kings of Bachata” concert at Madison Square Garden in 2007. The live tension was so strained that Don Omar tore off his leather jacket mid-lyric and even gyrated his pelvis as he detailed juicy tidbits from the affair — a far cry from the remorse he felt in the original rendition of the tune.

The duet is still so beloved by fans that Aventura will bring up concertgoers to act in place of Don Omar, making for a unique performance every time.

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The legacy of “Ella y Yo” remains so strong that, jokingly, people wonder if there is some truth to the adulterous lyrics; though both Don Omar and Santos have both shrugged it off as pure fiction. In a 2023 interview with media personality Molusco, Santos said the song is timeless.

“Not only does the old school like it, but younger generations listen to it and treat it like a new hit,” said Santos.

Part of the song’s allure stems from its unknown ending. What happens to everyone involved? Does Don Omar stop seeing Santos’ wife? Does Santos get a divorce? Or do all parties ride off into the sunset together, in a convoluted love triangle?

The latter is unlikely. But for the many fans that hold out hope for a resolution, there is some bad news: A sequel to “Ella y Yo” will likely never happen, said Santos in the Molusco interview, but for good reason.

“I don’t want to f— with that legacy that was ‘Ella y Yo,’” said Santos. “If a new song comes [organically], I’m for it, but I don’t know how it’ll happen.”