Tiburón (song)

"Tiburón" (Spanish: Shark) is a salsa song by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón which appeared on their 1981 album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos. The song is a metaphor for American intervention in Latin America, with the titular shark representing the influence of American perceived imperialism in the region.

The song opens by evoking the sounds of a Caribbean beach, which then comes under threat by a shark hunting for victims. Throughout the second half of the song, the singers shout the phrase, "si lo ven que viene, ¡palo al tiburón!" ("If you see him coming, [bring a] stick to the shark!"). The lyrics specifically call for protecting "our sister El Salvador", in reference to US involvement in then ongoing Salvadoran Civil War. The shark metaphor has been described as being inspired by Juan Jose Arévalo's 1956 book The Shark and the Sardines.