Rosalía posted a bilingual summer caption on Instagram this week. It gave a rare look at her off-time. The caption read “mi verano de fifa y puntas.” That translates to “my summer of FIFA and pointe shoes.” A sun emoji, a soccer ball, and a ballet shoe completed the thought.
The pairing is the story. Rosalía built her reputation on music that fuses Spanish flamenco with experimental, boundary-pushing production. She earned Grammys and headlined major festivals across Europe and the Americas. Her style of music was never supposed to break that big, and it did. A summer divided between ballet practice and FIFA gaming fits that restless spirit.
“Puntas” in Spanish refers to pointe shoes, the hard-toed footwear at the center of classical ballet. Dance has always been a big part of Rosalía’s work as a performer. Her live shows lean heavily on choreography, and her music videos have long had a visual and physical depth that goes beyond the standard pop clip. The ballet detail isn’t a surprise for anyone who’s followed her career. She’s been incorporating classical movement into pop contexts for years.
FIFA is the curveball. The football gaming franchise is one of the most-played video game series in the world, with a following that cuts across age groups and borders. In Spain, football culture runs deep, and FIFA has long been a go-to for fans at every level. Real Madrid and Barcelona have defined global football for decades, and the franchise is almost unavoidable in that cultural context. Rosalía grew up near Barcelona, so the game fits naturally into her background. The mention feels like an honest slice of everyday life, not a calculated move.
The photo pulled in over 820,000 likes on Instagram. No new music, tour announcement, or project news came with it.
Her habit of posting in Spanish is part of what makes her feel genuine. Her fanbase has grown to include millions of non-Spanish speakers, but the captions stay in Spanish. She grew up in Catalonia and trained in flamenco, a deeply Andalusian art form. She brought both to a global stage. She’s never softened her identity to appeal to a wider audience.
There’s something refreshing about a post like this. Rosalía doesn’t flood her feed, and she rarely shares much about her personal life. A casual update about gaming and ballet, dressed up with a few emojis, is more candid than most of what celebrities put out. It makes her feel like someone with actual hobbies, not just a brand running a content schedule.
Her last major full-length project was “MOTOMAMI,” the 2022 album that won the Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. The record drew widespread praise and widened her global audience significantly. She’s taken a selective approach to her public presence since then. This summer caption fits that pattern. It’s a small, honest window into her world, offered without much ceremony.
