Bachata Rosa
Encyclopedia
Bachata rosa is the fifth studio album
by Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra
and his group 4-40, released December 11, 1990 by KAREN Records. Written and produced by Guerra, the album was a successful record selling over five million copies worldwide and was responsible for bringing the bachata music to an international audience. Seven singles were released from the album; three of which were top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs
. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Tropical Albums
where it spent a total of twenty-four weeks on the position and was certified "Disco de Platino" in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America
. In Spain, the album spent eight weeks number one on the chart. The album was also a hit in the Netherlands where it peaked at number two on the Mega Album Top 100
and was certified gold.
Bachata rosa was critically praised by critics who commended on his songwriting and the production of the album citing as one of his most important works. Furthermore, it brought bachata music into the Dominican Republic mainstream media. The album received a Grammy Award
for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album
and two Lo Nuestro Awards
for "Tropical Album of the Year" and "Tropical - Group of the Year". A Portuguese version for the album was released in 1992 under the title "Romance rosa", which was certified gold in Brazil.
, Juan Luis Guerra began experimenting bachata with Dominican artist Sonia Silvestre on her album, Quiero andar. The result was an early demo of "Como abeja al panal" ("As a Bee to the Hive"). Silvestre explained that Guerra was not committed to the project after finding out that the album would be recorded in bachata. The song was first released for a Barceló
TV commercial. After it was released as a single, Guerra continued working on the bachata genre which led to him recording an album titled Bachata rosa. About the naming of the title Silvestre said that Guerra's bachatas were "rosa [rosy] while mine was red". Recording took place in his personal recording studio the 4-40 studio in New York and was released by KAREN Records.
which combines merengue and Afropop
. "La bilirrubina" ("The Bilirubin") is a merengue song that describes a man in a hospital suffering from a high bilirubin
of love and can only be cured by kisses as injections and surgery are ineffective. "Burbujas de amor" ("Bubbles of Love") is a sexual bachata song about a man's desire to become a fish and "make bubbles of love" on his lover's fishbowl. The lyrics for the song "Bachata rosa" was inspired by the works of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda
in the opening lines. "Reforestame" ("Reforest me") is a merengue track performed by 4-40 vocalist Adalgisa Pantaleon. The last track "Acompáñeme civil" is a merengue song performed by Beny Peregina which deals with social awareness.
on the week of January 12, 1991 where it had the position for twenty-four nonconsecutive weeks. The reach peaked at number nineteen on Billboard Top Latin Albums at the week of July 24, 1993. In 2004, the album was certified "Disco de Platino" by the RIAA for shipments of 100,000 copies. In Spain, the album reached number one where it spent eight weeks on the position. The album was also a hit in the Netherlands
where it peaked at number two on the Mega Album Top 100
chart and was certified gold by the NVPI
. A Portuguese version titled Romance rosa was released in 1992 which also contained his songs from his earlier albums performed in Portuguese. It was certified gold in Brazil by the Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos
for sales of 100,000 copies. According to Billboard, the album has sold over five million copies worldwide to date.
chart in 1989 and number fifty-five on Mega Single Top 100
in the Netherlands. "La bilirrubina" was the second single released from the album where it peaked at number nine on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The third single, "Burbujas de amor", was the best-performing single from the album where it peaked at number two on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number three on the Mega Single Top 100. The music video for the song features Guerra performing the song from a porch as he watches a couple dancing in the rain. The fourth single "A pedir su mano" peaked at number thirteen on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The music video shows costumed people dancing on the sugarcane fields with a cartoon with a red train going through the landscape. "Estrellitas y duendes" was the fifth single released from the album where it peaked number three on the Hot Latin Tracks. The sixth single "Carta de amor" peaked at number thirty-five on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The last single released from the album was "Bachata rosa" which peaked at number fifteen on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
gave the album a 3 out of 4 star rating praising the arrangements of the album as "puncy, well-crafted". David Wilson of Wilson & Alroy's Record Review gave the album a 5 star rating who notes that Guerra "perfected his approach to bachata", calling "Rosalia" and "La bilirrubina" "irresistible" merengues, and "A pedir su mano" as "the incredible slice of Afro-pop". Wilson closed the review stating that "...there's not one track here I'd be reluctant to play at a party."
At the 34th Grammy Awards, the album received an award for Best Tropical Latin Album
. At the Lo Nuestro Awards
of 1991, Guerra received three awards including "Tropical Song of the Year" for the song "Burbujas de amor", "Video of the Year" for the music video of "A pedir su mano", and "Tropical - Group of the Year". A year later, Guerra received two Lo Nuestro awards for "Tropical Album of the Year" for the album and again for "Tropical Group of the Year".
Juan Luis Guerra y 440
Additional personnel
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra is a singer, songwriter and producer from the Dominican Republic who has sold over 30 million records, and won numerous awards including 12 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Latin Billboard Music Awards...
and his group 4-40, released December 11, 1990 by KAREN Records. Written and produced by Guerra, the album was a successful record selling over five million copies worldwide and was responsible for bringing the bachata music to an international audience. Seven singles were released from the album; three of which were top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs
Hot Latin Songs
Hot Latin Songs is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It is often recognized as the most important music chart for Spanish language Latin music in the American music market. It was established by the magazine on September 6, 1986 with La Guirnalda by Rocío Dúrcal being the first song...
. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Tropical Albums
Tropical Albums
Tropical Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato, which are frequently considered tropical music...
where it spent a total of twenty-four weeks on the position and was certified "Disco de Platino" in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. In Spain, the album spent eight weeks number one on the chart. The album was also a hit in the Netherlands where it peaked at number two on the Mega Album Top 100
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
and was certified gold.
Bachata rosa was critically praised by critics who commended on his songwriting and the production of the album citing as one of his most important works. Furthermore, it brought bachata music into the Dominican Republic mainstream media. The album received a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album has been awarded since 1984. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1984 to 1991 the award was known as Best Tropical Latin Performance...
and two Lo Nuestro Awards
Lo Nuestro Awards
Lo Nuestro is an awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by television network Univision. The awards began in 1989. Notable recipients include Selena, Gloria Estefan, Juan Gabriel, Olga Tañón, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, Juanes, Laura Pausini, Luis Miguel, Maná, Juan Luis Guerra, ...
for "Tropical Album of the Year" and "Tropical - Group of the Year". A Portuguese version for the album was released in 1992 under the title "Romance rosa", which was certified gold in Brazil.
Background
Following the recording of his previous album Ojalá que llueva caféOjalá Que Llueva Café
-Track listing:# Visa Para un Sueño# Ojalá Que Llueva Café# Razones# De Tu Boca# La Gallera# Woman del Callao# Reina Mia# Angel Para una Tambora...
, Juan Luis Guerra began experimenting bachata with Dominican artist Sonia Silvestre on her album, Quiero andar. The result was an early demo of "Como abeja al panal" ("As a Bee to the Hive"). Silvestre explained that Guerra was not committed to the project after finding out that the album would be recorded in bachata. The song was first released for a Barceló
Barceló (rum)
Ron Barceló is the name and brand of a variety of rums from the Dominican Republic produced by Barceló Export Import, CxA Ron Barceló has its plant and distillery in San Pedro de Macoris.-Company history:...
TV commercial. After it was released as a single, Guerra continued working on the bachata genre which led to him recording an album titled Bachata rosa. About the naming of the title Silvestre said that Guerra's bachatas were "rosa [rosy] while mine was red". Recording took place in his personal recording studio the 4-40 studio in New York and was released by KAREN Records.
Musical style, writing and composition
The album consists of ten tracks including four bachata songs. The album starts with the opening track "Rosalia", an upbeat merengue song. "Como abeja al panal" which begins as a bachata tune and switches to salsa music in middle of the song. Carta de amor" is a salsa track written in a journalistic style. "Estrellitas y duendes" ("Little Stars and Elves") is a bachata regards living in his love's memories as a rainshower of little stars and elves. "A pedir su mano"("Asking for Her Hand") is a cover of Lea Lignanzy's song "Dede priscilla" from the Central African RepublicCentral African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
which combines merengue and Afropop
Afropop
Afropop or Afro-pop may refer to:*African popular music*Afropop Worldwide, a weekly radio program from Public Radio International...
. "La bilirrubina" ("The Bilirubin") is a merengue song that describes a man in a hospital suffering from a high bilirubin
Bilirubin
Bilirubin is the yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. Heme is found in hemoglobin, a principal component of red blood cells. Bilirubin is excreted in bile and urine, and elevated levels may indicate certain diseases...
of love and can only be cured by kisses as injections and surgery are ineffective. "Burbujas de amor" ("Bubbles of Love") is a sexual bachata song about a man's desire to become a fish and "make bubbles of love" on his lover's fishbowl. The lyrics for the song "Bachata rosa" was inspired by the works of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
in the opening lines. "Reforestame" ("Reforest me") is a merengue track performed by 4-40 vocalist Adalgisa Pantaleon. The last track "Acompáñeme civil" is a merengue song performed by Beny Peregina which deals with social awareness.
Album
In the United States, Bachata rosa debuted at number one on the Billboard Tropical AlbumsTropical Albums
Tropical Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato, which are frequently considered tropical music...
on the week of January 12, 1991 where it had the position for twenty-four nonconsecutive weeks. The reach peaked at number nineteen on Billboard Top Latin Albums at the week of July 24, 1993. In 2004, the album was certified "Disco de Platino" by the RIAA for shipments of 100,000 copies. In Spain, the album reached number one where it spent eight weeks on the position. The album was also a hit in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
where it peaked at number two on the Mega Album Top 100
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
chart and was certified gold by the NVPI
NVPI
The NVPI is the Dutch tradeassociation of the entertainment industry...
. A Portuguese version titled Romance rosa was released in 1992 which also contained his songs from his earlier albums performed in Portuguese. It was certified gold in Brazil by the Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos
Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos
The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :...
for sales of 100,000 copies. According to Billboard, the album has sold over five million copies worldwide to date.
Singles
"Como abeja al panal" was the first single released from the album it peaked at number thirty-one on the Billboard Hot Latin SongsHot Latin Songs
Hot Latin Songs is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It is often recognized as the most important music chart for Spanish language Latin music in the American music market. It was established by the magazine on September 6, 1986 with La Guirnalda by Rocío Dúrcal being the first song...
chart in 1989 and number fifty-five on Mega Single Top 100
Mega Single Top 100
The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is...
in the Netherlands. "La bilirrubina" was the second single released from the album where it peaked at number nine on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The third single, "Burbujas de amor", was the best-performing single from the album where it peaked at number two on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number three on the Mega Single Top 100. The music video for the song features Guerra performing the song from a porch as he watches a couple dancing in the rain. The fourth single "A pedir su mano" peaked at number thirteen on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The music video shows costumed people dancing on the sugarcane fields with a cartoon with a red train going through the landscape. "Estrellitas y duendes" was the fifth single released from the album where it peaked number three on the Hot Latin Tracks. The sixth single "Carta de amor" peaked at number thirty-five on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The last single released from the album was "Bachata rosa" which peaked at number fifteen on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
Critical reception
The album was generally praised by critics. Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic referred to Bachata rosa as a "milestone effort" and writes that "Not only is it his career-defining work, it's also one of the finest tropical albums of its era, or any other, for that matter" giving it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Don Snowden of the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave the album a 3 out of 4 star rating praising the arrangements of the album as "puncy, well-crafted". David Wilson of Wilson & Alroy's Record Review gave the album a 5 star rating who notes that Guerra "perfected his approach to bachata", calling "Rosalia" and "La bilirrubina" "irresistible" merengues, and "A pedir su mano" as "the incredible slice of Afro-pop". Wilson closed the review stating that "...there's not one track here I'd be reluctant to play at a party."
At the 34th Grammy Awards, the album received an award for Best Tropical Latin Album
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album
The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album has been awarded since 1984. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1984 to 1991 the award was known as Best Tropical Latin Performance...
. At the Lo Nuestro Awards
Lo Nuestro Awards
Lo Nuestro is an awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by television network Univision. The awards began in 1989. Notable recipients include Selena, Gloria Estefan, Juan Gabriel, Olga Tañón, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, Juanes, Laura Pausini, Luis Miguel, Maná, Juan Luis Guerra, ...
of 1991, Guerra received three awards including "Tropical Song of the Year" for the song "Burbujas de amor", "Video of the Year" for the music video of "A pedir su mano", and "Tropical - Group of the Year". A year later, Guerra received two Lo Nuestro awards for "Tropical Album of the Year" for the album and again for "Tropical Group of the Year".
Cultural impact
Prior to the release of Bachata rosa, bachata music was generally regarded as music from only the lower-class in the Dominican Republican and did not gain attention from the media. After Guerra released the album, bachata was socially accepted by the middle and upper classes in the country. In addition, the success of the album led to an international exposure of the genre and has since become mainstream music in the Dominican Republic.Track listing
Personnel
The following credits are from Allmusic and from the Bachata rosa liner notes:Juan Luis Guerra y 440
Additional personnel
Chart performance
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Netherlands (Mega Album Top 100 MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... ) |
2 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE PROMUSICAE Spanish Music Producers is a trade group representing the Spanish recording industry... ) |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Tropical Albums Tropical Albums Tropical Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato, which are frequently considered tropical music... |
1 |
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums | 19 |
Certifications
See also
- Music of the Dominican RepublicMusic of the Dominican RepublicThe music of the Dominican Republic is known primarily for merengue, though bachata, salsa and other forms are also popular. Dominican music has always been closely intertwined with that of its neighbor, Haiti .-Merengue:...
- List of number-one Billboard Tropical Albums from the 1990s