Los del Río
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Los del Río (in German: Die vom Fluss ) is a Spanish music duo that had a worldwide hit with Macarena in the mid-1990s .
history
As early as the 1960s, the two Andalusians Rafael Ruiz Perdigones (* 1949) and Antonio Romero Monge (* 1947) , who came from near Seville , formed a flamenco duo with guitar and vocals under the name Los del Río (Die vom Fluss ) together. They became known for traditional Spanish music, especially the Sevillanas , and recorded over 30 albums over the years.
The song Macarena
The appearance of a flamenco dancer inspired the two musicians to write the song Macarena , which they released in their home country in August 1993. It's about a light-hearted woman named “Macarena” (named after a Spanish saint) who cheats on her new boyfriend with two men while he oaths the flag , who spends her summers in Marbella and dreams of chic clothes and life in New York . In the chorus, the two singers practically incite the girl: "Give your body joy, because that's what it's there for". The title quickly became popular in Spain, but it wasn't until the following years that the song was also heard in Latin America. From there it reached the south of the USA via the Spanish-speaking radio stations. In 1995 the producer and remixer duo Carlos Alberto de Yarza and Mike Triay from Miami discovered the piece and turned the traditional guitar sounds with Spanish singing and rhythmic clapping into a disco-suitable version with electronic sounds and a female choir as well as English lyrics. Her "Bayside Boys Remix" was an immediate hit in the US. In June 1996, Macarena was number 1 on the American Billboard charts for 14 weeks . The song was sold over 4.5 million times in the US alone - equivalent to four platinum records . The Macarena remix topped the pop charts almost everywhere around the world and was the summer hit of the year. Worldwide there were over eleven million singles sold. In the wake of the remix, the original made it to number 23 in the charts. In addition to the Los del Río versions, Los del Mar also benefited from the success and, for example, placed in the top 5 with the same title behind the original in Australia and France. Numerous covered , translated and instrumental versions followed and the song is still a popular mood hit today.
The Macarena dance
In keeping with the hit, there was a fashion dance that was created in a Spanish dance school and expanded for the accompanying music video , which was shown on all music channels in the summer of 1996. Whether in stadiums at public music and sporting events, in the village disco or at children's birthdays and weddings - everywhere you clapped your hands in a certain sequence, put them on your hips, turned your hips, went on your knees, and then in an upward swing turn sideways 90 degrees with a slight jump. The scene in which the US ambassador and later Secretary of State Madeleine Albright teaches the Botswana ambassador to dance before a UN Security Council meeting is internationally known . Even in German elementary schools , dance was apparently taught as part of music education.
Later career
As expected, it was difficult for Los del Río to follow up on this exceptional success. A Christmas version called Macarena Christmas reached the charts again at the end of the year, but apart from that they were an international one-hit wonder .
Nevertheless, they were able to interest some in their traditional flamenco music, to which they increasingly devoted themselves again. At the end of the 1990s they celebrated their 30th stage anniversary and to this day they continue the long series of their flamenco albums. The musicians continue to live in their homeland in Dos Hermanas near Seville.
Awards for music sales
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Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
| Country / Region |
 gold |
 platinum |
 diamond
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Sales | swell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
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 Australia (ARIA)
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gold1
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3 × platinum3
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- | 245,000 | aria.com.au ariacharts.com.au |
 Belgium (BEA)
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- |
2 × platinum2
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- | 100,000 | ultratop.be |
 Germany (BVMI)
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gold1
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platinum1
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- | 750,000 | musikindustrie.de |
 France (SNEP)
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- | - |
diamond1
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750,000 | infodisc.fr snepmusique.com |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
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- |
platinum1
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- | 15,000 | nztop40.co.nz |
 Netherlands (NVPI)
|
- |
platinum1
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- | 75,000 | nvpi.nl |
 Austria (IFPI)
|
- |
platinum1
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- | 50,000 | ifpi.at |
 Sweden (IFPI)
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gold1
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- | - | 15,000 | sverigetopplistan.se |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
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gold1
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- | - | 25,000 | hitparade.ch |
 Spain (Promusicae)
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2 × gold2
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platinum1
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- | 200,000 | Sólo éxitos: año año, 1959-2002 |
 United States (RIAA)
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- |
4 × platinum4th
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- | 4,000,000 | riaa.com |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
|
- |
platinum1
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- | 600,000 | bpi.co.uk |
| All in all |
6 × gold6th
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15 × platinum15th
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diamond1
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US ES
- ↑ Ben Rayner: Anatomy of a Blockbuster: "Heeeey, Macarena!" In: thestar.com. August 1, 2014, accessed on August 6, 2020 .
- ↑ Los del Rio: Macarena - the dance; in: Music in primary school 1/1996, page 23 Los del Rio: Macarena - the dance www.musikpaedagogik-online.de (reference)