Macarena

"Macarena" is a song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, originally recorded for their 1993 album A mí me gusta. A dance remix by the electropop group Fangoria was a success in Spain, and a soundalike cover version by Los del Mar became popular in Canada. Another remix by Miami-based producers the Bayside Boys, who added a section with English lyrics, expanded its popularity, initially peaking at No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in late 1995.

The Bayside Boys mix enjoyed a significant revival the following year when it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 1 for 14 weeks between August and November 1996. Its resurgence was aided by a dance craze that became a cultural phenomenon throughout the latter half of 1996 and early 1997. The song got the group ranked the "No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time" by VH1 in 2002. In 2012, it was ranked No. 7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It also ranked at No. 7 on Billboard's All Time Latin Songs list. In 2023, Billboard ranked "Macarena" number 500 in their list of Best Pop Songs of All Time.

The composition of "Macarena" features a variant on the clave rhythm. The song is written in the key of A♭ major, moves at a tempo of 103 beats per minute, and follows the repeated chord progression A♭–G♭ throughout.

As a result of their lounge act, Los del Río were invited to tour South America in 1992 and, while visiting Venezuela, they were invited to a private party held by the Venezuelan impresario Gustavo Cisneros. During the celebration, a local flamenco teacher, Diana Patricia Cubillán Herrera, performed a dance for the guests, and Los del Río were pleasantly surprised by Cubillán's dance skills. Spontaneously, Antonio Romero Monge, one half of the Los del Río duo, recited the song's chorus-to-be on the spot, as an accolade to Cubillán: "¡Diana, dale a tu cuerpo alegría y cosas buenas!'" ("Give your body some joy, Diana"). When Monge wrote the song, he changed the name to Macarena, in honor of his daughter Esperanza Macarena.

In 1993, RCA Records released "Macarena" as a single in Spain along with two house remixes by Spanish group Fangoria, intended to popularize the song in nightclubs and discotheques. These remixes changed the flamenco rhythm of the song to an electronic beat. According to Alaska, member of Fangoria, the Bayside Boys remix that followed in 1996 took their version labelled "Macarena (River Remix)" as its base. The band denounced it as plagiarism on the Court of Justice of the European Union but the case did not go through.

In mid-1996, the song became a worldwide hit roughly one year after the Bayside Boys (composed of Mike Triay and Carlos de Yarza) produced a remix of the song that added English lyrics. Jammin Johnny Caride, a radio personality at Power 96 in Miami, first learned of the original "Macarena" when clubgoers at a club where he worked as a DJ requested the song. Caride brought the "Macarena" to his supervisors at Power 96 who asked him to create an English-language version of the song.

Caride recruited his two partners at Bayside Records, Mike "In the Night" Triay and Carlos de Yarza, to remix the original song. The new, English-language lyrics were written by Carlos de Yarza. The Bayside Boys, Triay and de Yarza, added a new dance beat with English-language lyrics sung originally by the studio singer Patty Alfaro, then later during a concert tour by Carla Vanessa. Vanessa accepted a fixed-fee contract for her participation and live performances, and so does not receive any residual performer royalties. The finished version was called "Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)". The Bayside Boys remix hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1996 and remained at the top of the chart for fourteen weeks. It also topped the US Cash Box Top 100. Remarkably, even this version of the song was completely ignored by the US Hot Dance Club Play chart which represented DJ club playlists.

The Bayside Boys mix of "Macarena" was featured in Sonic Team's Samba de Amigo for the Sega NAOMI arcade system and the Sega Dreamcast.