"Despacito", the all-Spanish megahit of Puerto Ricans Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, became the most watched video on YouTube on Friday, surpassing 2,995 million visits.
The video of the catchy reggaeton filmed in the popular neighborhood of La Perla in San Juan, Puerto Rico, released just seven months ago, left behind "See You Again" by American rapper Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth with 2,993 million hits.
Daddy Yankee told the Billboard magazine website on Friday that he was happy and dazzled that he had broken the record with his song. "Breaking the record is overwhelming, and I'm happy to continue inspiring others to do the same," said the singer and songwriter.
"I recognize the influence of the platform, the music industry has changed, the rules of music have changed," he said.
"Despacito" was already declared in July as the most played theme in "streaming" history, with more than 4.6 billion reproductions of its original version and remix on internet platforms, including YouTube and Spotify.
"Despacito," a theme plagued by sexual undertones, became viral shortly after its January release and reached an even larger audience in April when Canadian pop star Justin Bieber appeared on a remix.
The catchy song shifts from the "streaming" ranking to "Sorry", by Bieber himself, which accounted for 4.380 million views in mid-July, according to Universal.
The song has led the American charts for 12 weeks, becoming the first Spanish song to reach number one since "Macarena" in 1996.
The song and the video directed by Carlos Perez have even provoked the arrival of many foreign tourists to the neighborhood of La Perla, one of the poorest of San Juan.
Tourists are now strolling through their little streets and colorful houses to identify images of the video, such as the rocks in front of the sea where Fonsi sings the chorus or the boardwalk that runs past Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera.
