Monday Morning’s Earworm №127

Macarena by Los del Rio (Bayside Boys mix)

What is an earworm?

It’s a snatch or a snippet, a captured fragment, a line or two, or maybe a bit more, from a cultural reference point that stays in your head, that keeps bubbling up, accompanying your day.

It’s part of the language of your landscape that stays in your mind, whether it’s one single line, a couplet or maybe a whole verse, from a poem or song, or a part of a speech from a play, or a quote from a book, or something you heard somebody say, that won’t let you go.

Sometimes it won’t involve what we call language in the everyday. It could be purely a musical phrase that plays on your time, on a loop that follows you through day and night.

That’s what an earworm is. And so is this…

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Macarena by Los del Rio (Bayside Boys Mix)

UK Chart peak: №2 US Chart peak: №1

I was sat here pondering the next earworm, hoping for inspiration to pop up sooner than later. Be careful what you wish for.

There are many songs of which you could say, “If any song defines an earworm, that does”, and this is definitely one of those. I can’t always be certain how, why or where a song pops up from when I sit down to write these earworm articles, but I know I’ve heard this recently from somewhere.

Don’t ask, I haven’t a clue. But it’s too good a one to turn down.

When I turned to YouTube just now to listen to this, I listened to the original Spanish version. I’d forgotten that the hit version in the UK at the time, in 1996, was an English-language remix. Having listened to both within five minutes of each other, I have to say I prefer the Spanish version. It feels more authentic, more naturally fitting to the natural rhythm and groove of the song.

How the Macarena Was Born

The Los del Rio boys (?) had been on a tour of South America in 1992, and it was while visiting Venezuela that the song was born at a private party thrown by impressario Gustavo Cisneros:

“During the celebration, a local flamenco teacher, Diana Patricia Cubillán Herrera, performed a dance for the guests, and Los del Río were pleasantly surprised by Cubillán’s dance skills.

Spontaneously, Antonio Romero Monge, one half of the Los del Río duo, recited the song’s chorus-to-be on the spot, as an accolade to Cubillán: “¡Diana, dale a tu cuerpo alegría y cosas buenas!’” (“Give your body some joy, Diana”).

When Monge wrote up the finished version of the song, he named it Macarena after his daughter. This might feel odd to contemporary sensibilities, being as it’s a song about infidelity, hinting at a one-night stand and a potential threesome. Until you learn that his daughter Macarena was 24 at the time, casting the song more as a cautionary tale.

Macarena has a boyfriend who’s called Who’s called Vitorino by his last name And when he left to sign up for the army, he Saw her with two of his friends

About the Song of This Morning’s Moment

The Macarena was originally a hit in 1993. Although it didn’t bother the British charts then, it was still a sizeable hit elsewhere making №23 on the Billboard Hot 100, №10 in Spain and №15 in the Netherlands.

It wasn’t until the Bayside Boys remix of 1996 that it would become the insidious hit song we all know and love today in the UK. This remix would enter the Charts here in the week of the 13th of July, not leaving the charts until the week of the 9th of November. In the middle of that run it spent 8 weeks in the UK top ten, between July and September.

It’s no surprise it became branded on the collective consciousness. This is the version that made the song a global smash hit. While it only peaked at №2 in the UK, it was №1 in several countries around the world, including the US, Australia, Israel and nearly a dozen countries in Europe.

It was some pension plan for a duo that’d been together since the 60s, releasing their first album, Luces de Sevilla, in 1967.

The Macarena would be the opening track for their 1993 album A mí me gusta, but the album would perform only modestly (only charting in the US, where it got to №25 on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart) compared to its more famous opening track.

I must say, having listened to it, I prefer the version of Macarena that opens the album. It’s a more honest pop record, even featuring a brief sax solo, compared to the genetically engineered dance colossus we all know that pops up halfway through at track №6.

As to the album as a whole, it’s a pleasant enough listen as a pop album. But with its flamenco elements, I’d happily pop it on as the soundtrack to a sunny summer afternoon.

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Recommended Listening:

A mí me gusta, Los del Rio, Serdisco, 1993

As ever, tell me in the comments what you thought of today’s earworm.