Cult party song “Macarena” is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The catchy track first appeared on 1993 album A mi me gusta by Spanish duo Los del Rio, but became a mainstream hit when producers the Bayside Boys remixed it with English lyrics. It topped charts around the world, including the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for 14 weeks.
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Antonio Romeo Monge and Rafael Ruiz of Los del Rio, who have been performing together since 1962, are still overwhelmed with the support Macarena receive after it became the go-to jam for weddings, sporting events, bar mitzvah and even a Democratic convention.
“We have no words to thank everyone,” Monge tells Billboard magazine. “We’re just two guys from a small town, doing things very humbly because we come from very humble families, we lost our parents very young, we’ve worked so hard, and to see ourselves here?”
“That girl Macarena really was something,” added Ruiz.
The story was inspired by a Venezuelan girl Monge spotted at a private party. Singing a little tune to himself, about the girl he called Madalena, Monge later changed the name to Macarena in honor of his daughter, and the hit was born.
The song has sold over four million units in the U.S.
