In Latin American and especially
Puerto Rican slang, it's a contraction of "
para adelante" or "
forward."
Un, dos, tres, un pasito
pa' lante Maria! (One, two, three, one little step forward, Maria!) -- Ricky
Martin song
The Puerto Rican drag queens in RuPaul'
s drag race have the motto "echa pa' lante." (Go forward.)