Egoismo

Orlando Contreras' song 'Egoismo' delves into the complex emotions of love, loss, and selflessness. The lyrics tell the story of a man who has come to terms with losing his beloved to another. He acknowledges that another love has captivated her heart more than he could, and rather than causing her pain or disrupting her newfound happiness, he chooses to step aside. This act of letting go, despite his own suffering, highlights a profound sense of selflessness masked as egoism.

The recurring theme in the song is the narrator's desire to see his former lover happy, even if it means he must endure the pain of separation. He understands that her love for him was merely an illusion, and in recognizing this, he decides to leave her with a heavy heart. The repetition of the phrase 'si de egoismo vivo yo' (if I live in egoism) is particularly poignant, as it suggests that his decision to let her go is driven by a deeper, perhaps misunderstood, form of egoism—one that prioritizes her happiness over his own.

Contreras' delivery of the lyrics, combined with the melancholic melody, amplifies the emotional weight of the song. The cultural context of the song, rooted in Latin American romanticism, often explores themes of unrequited love and the noble suffering of the lover. 'Egoismo' is a testament to the bittersweet nature of love, where true affection sometimes means making the hardest sacrifices for the sake of the other's joy.