O R G U L L O
M U N D O
February 15, 2006 -- Happy Valentine's Day! Well, it's a day after the V-day. How amazing is it that there's an occasion every time we see each other? Hopefully we'd be able to have another reunion, large-scale or whatever, like the one that we had last Christmas, because it has been a l-o-n-g time. While we hope that you had a fun Valentine's Daywith your true love or loved ones, this week we remember a very bittersweet song and its music video about a failed relationship. Not to spoil all your Valentine bliss, but love is much sweeter after you've experienced pain. Ain't that the truth?
La TorturaOne of the more popular global latin artists today,
Shakira, has created a new anthem for the people who have loved and lost and still emerge on top. In 2005, she released a duet with Spaniard
Alejandro Sanz called
La Tortura from her
Fijación Oral, vol. 1 Spanish-language album, a song about being emotionally tortured after being dumped by your lover. It ends on a high note, though, as the "dumpee" later becomes the "dumper" (there are no better words) just as the former lover who rejected you wishes to come back to your nest but you clearly see that there's no point in sheding a tear for this person and this time, the ball's in your court. Sweet revenge.
The song features
Shakira's trademark thick vocals and of course in the video, her trademark hip-shaking dance moves take centerstage, amidst all the grease that the director put on her.
Alejandro Sanz also does some rapping here and effectively sings the chorus with
Shakira with his popular husky voice. (If you did not know who
Alejandro Sanz was, he's the one who re-recorded the Spanish version of
One Night, Una Noche, with
The Corrs in 2001, and he has the biggest selling pop album in Spain in recent times,
Mas, released in 1997). This video is remarkable as it is the first song completely sung in Spanish that received mainstream airplay on radio and in MTV and
TRL all over the world and was a global hit, and
Shakira and
Alejandro were the first performers to sing a song in Spanish at the two-decade old MTV Video Music Awards last year. (Forget
Macarena, because that one became popular worldwide due to the Spanglish and dance novelty remixes and Christmas versions). During the historic filming of her
Making The Video episode, being the first edition done completely in Spanish, Shakira commented that she had wanted to wear a wig but decided against it when she learned that she would be dancing with black oil all over her body. She was afraid, though, that the oil would ruin her hair. But since she could not dance well with an unstable wig dripping with grease, she agreed to use her real hair. How about that for dedication! After seing the video, though, you would be seduced and satisfied and would tell yourself, "The
Sexbomb Girls probably haven't seen this music video yet."
There are two main versions of the song with separate music videos directed by
Michael Haussman. You could buy the original version as the album
Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 comes with a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes on the making of the album and a rare home video shot by
Alejandro Sanz featuring booty-shaking
Shakira. All in all, the carrier song, and the rest of the album are a great buy. (It was nominated for Best Latin Rock Album at the recent Grammy Awards). Now, to enjoy the song, which was included in our very own private collection,
Orgullo: Latin Pop, released last December, we are publishing the original lyrics of the album version. The Shaketon Remix, a version of the song that also appears on the album, features a reggaeton beat (think
Gasolina by
Daddy Yankee) and hip-hop production and slightly different bridge but retained the original melody. We'll talk about this new music genre that has become so popular in North and Latin America and the Philippines in a future column.
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