At the Party Con las Chicas

Los Del Rio

It was fifteen years ago that the Macarena hit the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. It go on to be the number one single of the year. A catchy Latin dance song, it was totally unlike anything else playing on the radio at the time, predating the Latin Pop sound of Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aquilera, Ricky Martin, and Enrique Iglesias by three years. Moreover, it didn't sound like anything from the Dance scene either, which was an eclectic mix of classic Trance, early Trip Hop, and Eurodance.

It was a fluke mainstream phenomenon, but it took off in a BIG way. It dominated the Billboard chart for three months and stayed within the Top 100 throughout the following year. It pervades popular culture in every way. Even the political figures made reference to the Macarena; sometimes, they'd even dance it. Oh, horror, horror, horror. . .



Instructions for dancing the Macarena


Constantly on the radio, I was unable to listen to mainstream Top 40 music stations, like KIIS 102.7, after a while. I kept the dial on either alternative, classical, or dance stations for my music fix. And that was a good thing. Keeping up on the newest popular musical trends is interesting, but sometimes one needs to take a break from the audio "junk food". There was a lot of good music in 1996, but most of it wasn't in the Top 40.


Years later, I'm reconciled with the Macarena. The exuberence and "fiesta" vibe is charming and fun. I've derived endless amusement from silly photos of cats, dogs, babies, celebrities, politicians, or miscellaneous figures with their hands in a Macarena-like position with an accompanying quote from the song. This one is still my favorite:

"Hey, Macarena!!!"

LOL!!!

Here's the vid:

Here's the Macarena Wikipedia page.

And here's the Los Del Rio Wikipedia page.

Enjoy!!!