"Macarena" is a Spanish dance song by Los del Río about a woman of the same name. It was popular between 1995 and 1996, and continues to have a cult following. The "Bayside Boys Mix" became the most well known version of the song, as it had English lyrics, sung by an uncredited artist. It was ranked the "#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of all Time" by VH1 in 2002.
The song uses a type of clave. The song ranks at #5 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It also ranks at #1 on Billboard's All Time Latin Songs. It is also Billboard's #1 dance song and one of five foreign language songs to hit #1 since 1955's modern rock era began.
Origin and history
As a result of their lounge act, Los del Río were invited to tour South America in March 1992 and, while visiting
Venezuela, they were invited to a private party held by the Venezuelan empresario (of Cuban descent)
Gustavo Cisneros. Many prominent Venezuelans were in attendance that night, including former president
Carlos Andrés Pérez.
Cisneros had arranged for a local flamenco teacher, Diana Patricia Cubillán Herrera, to do a small performance for the guests, and Los Del Rio were pleasantly surprised by Cubillán's dance skills. Spontaneously, Romero recited the song's chorus-to-be on the spot, as an accolade to Cubillán, but naming her "Ma'dalena" (Magdalena): "Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Ma'dalena, que tu cuerpo e' pa' darle alegría y cosa' güena'" ("Give your body some joy, Magdalene, 'cause your body is for giving joy and good things too"). In Andalusian culture labeling a woman "Magdalena" is to give her a faint association with Mary Magdalene's reportedly seedy past, and more accurately describes her as being sassy or sensuous.
Record breaking and worldwide impact
The song was originally recorded in 1992, and released in 1993 as a
rumba. This was the first of six versions of the song that can be associated to Los Del Rio. Another version, a
new flamenco rumba pop fusion theme with fully
Spanish lyrics, attained significant success in
Spain and
Mexico. It also became popular in
Puerto Rico because of its use as an unofficial campaign theme song for then-governor
Pedro Rosselló, who was seeking reelection under the
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico's ticket. Being the base for many
cruise ships, many visitors to the island were constantly exposed to the song during their stay in Puerto Rico. This may explain how the song spread to — and became a smash hit in — cities with sizable Latino communities in the United States, particularly
Miami and
New York City.
After being remixed by the Bayside Boys and having English lyrics written and added by Grammy nominated producer Carlos de Yarza, it became a worldwide hit in mid-1996. The single spent 14 weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, one of the longest runs atop the Hot 100 chart in history. During its heyday, the song was played frequently at professional athletic games, rallies, conventions, and other places. Many believe that a world record for group dancing was set in 1996, when a crowd of 50,000 people was dancing the Macarena in Yankee Stadium in New York City. The song made such an impact that during the Democratic National Convention in 1996, Al Gore humorously performed his version of the Macarena by standing completely still while the song played.
In VH1's 2002 documentary 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders, "Macarena" was ranked as #1. "Macarena" was also ranked #1 on a different VH1 documentary, 40 Awesomely Bad No. 1 Songs. Most recently, in 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio ranked the song at #10 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever while giving out an order: "First: Place your arm straight out in front of you at shoulder height, palm facing down. Then: Punch the DJ."
On America's Best Dance Crew, it was danced to on the Whack Track Challenge, given to the Ringmasters.
In the United Kingdom the song was released in June 1996 and peaked at number two on August 17, 1996. It was kept off the number one spot by the Spice Girls song "Wannabe".
1996 Democratic Convention
The popular song was used as diversion dance song at the
1996 Democratic National Convention. When the convention was moving slowly or needed a change of pace the Macarena song was played over the whole convention floor and the delegates were encouraged to do the Macarena dance steps. According to
Time Magazine, the song was played at the convention with intention to unify the delegates and get the party excited about the election. Vice President
Al Gore, having a reputation for stiffness, said that when he did the Macarena "there's no visible movement."
Music video
There are two different music videos. The most common music video, directed by Vincent Calvet, was created in 1996, featuring Los del Rio performing on a white backdrop. Ten women (including a then unknown
Tracee Ellis Ross) are also seen dancing with the band. This version samples a line from
The Graduate ("I am not trying to seduce you!") which was later removed due to possible copyright issues. The other, similar version of the music video was in black and white and was more instructional in that the women and men are clearly shown performing the specific dance moves.
| Name | Macarena Christmas |
|---|
| Cover | Macarena Christmas.jpg |
|---|
| Artist | Los del Río |
|---|
| Released | 1996 |
|---|
| Recorded | 1996 |
|---|
| Genre | Latin
Dance-pop |
|---|
| Format | CD single, 7", 12" |
|---|
| Length | 4:04 |
|---|
| Label | RCA |
|---|
| Writer | Romero Monge, Rafael Ruiz |
|---|
| Last single | "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)"
(1995) |
|---|
| This single | "Macarena Christmas"
(1996) |
|---|
| Next single | "Baila Baila"
(1999) |
|---|
Christmas version: "Macarena Christmas"
Due to the overwhelming success of the song, a
Christmas version of the song was created for the 1996 Christmas Season. It involved the original song with short lines from classic Christmas carols (specifically incorporating: "
Joy to the World," "
Jingle Bells," "
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "
White Christmas" and "
Auld Lang Syne") in between the popular verses.
In the music video, the young female dancers wear Christmas colored attire but there are nine of them compared to the ten dancers in the original. For the sequence featuring a new routine (the one being commonly used today), eight of them are shown with one of them being switched with a ninth dancer at times throughout the chorus.
Official versions
"Macarena" (Original) - 4:09
"Macarena" (Bayside Boys Remix) - 3:50
"Macarena" (Bayside Boys Remix - Original Promo Video Version) - 4:12
"Macarena" (Bayside Boys Remix - Video Version) 3:45
"Macarena" (Bass Bumpers Remix - Club Mix) - 5:40
"Macarena" (Bass Bumpers Radio Remix) - 3:27
"Macarena" (DJ Pero Latin Piano Mix) - 5:36
"Macarena" (La Mezcla Guerrillera 130 BPM) - 5:35
"Macarena" (Pulsar House Mix) - 5:40
"Macarena" (River Re-Mix 103 BPM) - 5:02
"Macarena" (Aaron Scofield's Powerhouse Mix) - 6:14
"Macarena Christmas" (Joy Mix) - 4:12
"Macarena Christmas" (Joy Mix - Club Version) - 5:44
Charts
"Macarena"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|End of year chart (1996)
!align="center"|Position
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|98
|-
!align="left"|End of year chart (1997)
!align="center"|Position
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|82
|-
|}
"Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)"
{| style="width:100%;"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| style="width:50%;"|
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1995/1996)
!Peak
position
|-
|Australian
ARIA Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Austrian
Top 75 Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Belgian (Flanders)
Ultratop 50 Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Belgian (Wallonia)
Ultratop 40 Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|
Danish Singles Chart
|align="center"|1
|-
|
Dutch Top 40
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|
Eurochart Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Finnish Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|French
SNEP Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|German
Top 100 Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Irish
IRMA Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|Italian
FIMI Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|Norwegian
VG-Lista Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|New Zealand
RIANZ Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Spanish Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|
Swedish Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|Swiss Top 100 Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|
UK Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Top 40 Mainstream
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Rhythmic Top 40
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot Latin Tracks
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|28
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Adult Top 40
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|}
|}
End of year charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|End of year chart (1996)
!align="center"|Position
|-
|ARIA
|align="center"|1
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|1
|-
|}
End of decade charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1990-1999)
!Position
|-
| U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|}
"Macarena Christmas"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1996)
! style="text-align:center;"|Peak
position
|-
|Australian
ARIA Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|Finnish Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|French SNEP Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|34
|-
|Norwegian Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|16
|-
|Swedish Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|40
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|57
|}
Remixes, covers and parodies
Los Del Mar version
The song was covered by
Los del Mar featuring Pedro Castaño. Their version, which was very similar to the original and difficult to distinguish from it, was first released in 1995 and then again at the same time as the original in the
United Kingdom and
Australia. In the UK it only reached #43 in the charts, but remained charted for almost two months; however, the Los del Rio version peaked at number two. In Australia, the Los del Mar version was more successful and peaked at number two whilst the Los del Rio version was still at number one. In Canada, the Los del Mar version was quite popular on
MuchMusic and top 40 radio in 1995, eclipsing the later popularity of the original.
Track listings
Australian CD Single
# "Macarena" (Radio Mix) - 3:49
# "Macarena" (Bola Mix) - 6:08
The GrooveGrass Boyz version
In 1997,
The GrooveGrass Boyz recorded a
country music version of the "Macarena", with re-written lyrics. This rendition peaked at #70 on the
Hot Country Songs charts and #7 on the
Bubbling Under Hot 100.
The Art of Sound Group Mix
In 2008, Los del Río recorded a remix of the song in honor of the Macarena's 15th anniversary. The song, which was featured on their album
Quinceañera Macarena, was produced by
The Art of Sound and featured
T Lopez and
The D.E.Y. Recorded in both Spanish and later in English, the remake received moderate airplay on some Spanish music stations, such as
WSKQ-FM,
KVVZ, and
WMEG.
The song and album were released in November 2008 by IMC records, who said "We totally reinvented the Macarena with the help of The Art of Sound boys in Miami and artists like El Chino DreadLion and Yeyo, but were lacking that feminine touch, and thanks to Cash Money Records we found that in T Lopez," IMC Records came across T Lopez when she was in Los Angeles recording at Candor Entertainment Studios.
Notes
Category:1993 singles
Category:1996 singles
Category:Number-one debut singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in Austria
Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in France
Category:Number-one singles in Italy
Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Spain
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Spanish-language songs
Category:Alvin and the Chipmunks songs
Category:Singles certified diamond by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
