Amor Gitano

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For the Mexican telenovela, see Amor gitano (TV series).
"Amor Gitano"
Viento a Favor and Irreemplazable
LanguageSpanish
English title"Gypsy Love"
ReleasedFebruary 12, 2007 (2007-02-12)
RecordedJanuary 2007
Studio
  • The Beach House Recording, Miami Beach, Florida
  • Roc the Mic, New York City
Genre
Length3:50
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Alejandro Fernández singles chronology
"Qué Voy a Hacer con Mi Amor"
(2005) 		"Amor Gitano"
(2007) 		"Te Voy A Perder"
(2007)
Beyoncé singles chronology
"Hollywood"
(2006) 		"Amor Gitano"
(2007) 		"Beautiful Liar"
(2007)

"Amor Gitano" (English: "Gypsy Love") is a

El Zorro
and it was released on February 12, 2007, during the premiere of the episode of the telenovela.

"Amor Gitano" generally received positive reception from music critics. While some of them complimented the vocal exchanges between both artists and the

Latin Pop Songs chart. Achieving multi-platinum certifications for ringtones and digital downloads in Spain, the song remained at the top of the Spanish Singles charts for thirteen weeks, becoming Beyoncé's second Spanish chart-topping single, the first being "Beautiful Liar" (2007). As of 2019, "Amor Gitano" is the second best-selling single of all time in Spain
.

Background and recording

"Amor Gitano" originated from the collaboration of

Music World Entertainment, about Beyoncé's Spanish material, and the duet song was recorded partly at The Beach House Recording Studios in Miami Beach, Florida and at the Rock the Mic Studios in New York in mid January 2007, with Rudy Perez.[1]

In an interview with Billboard magazine, Beyoncé discussed how excited she was about the collaboration stating, "I loved working with Alejandro on 'Amor Gitano.' When I was asked to record with him, I immediately said 'yes.' He is extremely talented."[2] Alejandro Fernández stated that as the production and recording of his album was nearly over, he was told that Beyoncé wanted to record a duet with a Latino male for her next album.[2] He stated: "So when they suggested it, I liked the idea. I thought it was spectacular. So we went, I gave her the song and she liked it [...] We recorded it in one day. She seemed like a fine lady to me, very humble, with a great voice."[2]

According to Beyoncé's publicity material, she grew up in a Texas area where Spanish was a popular language and heard it all the time. She studied the language as a child but forgot it as she grew up and rose to fame. Beyoncé was planning to take Spanish lessons because she had learned the language again and then the song by imitating the sounds. She stated: "I had the best coach; I did it phonetically, every sentence I recorded maybe four times."[3] A "Making of ..." video was created while Beyoncé was recording the song with Fernández.[4] While creating the song, Beyoncé had producer Rudy Perez coach her in her Spanish, as she did not want to misrepresent the language.[4]

Music and theme

"Amor Gitano"
As Fernández sings "I'm your gypsy, your pilgrim," Knowles replies "I'm going to love you even if they take my heart away."
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The song was written by Reyli Barba, formerly of the band Elefante, who has worked with Fernández on multiple occasions.[5] Additional writing was done by Jaime Flores and Beyoncé.[5] "Amor Gitano" was produced by Beyoncé as well as Rudy Perez.[6][7] Labeled as inappropriate for those under the age of 14 by Common Sense Media, the song features negative stereotyping of Romani or Gypsy people.[8] The entire song is sung in Spanish; the English translation of the title is "Gypsy Love".[9]

The song contains hints of

flamenco pop and strong lyrics dominate the entire track.[9] After opening with "traditional flamenco sounds and generic Gypsy Kings-style guitarra riffs", "Amor Gitano" adds hints of pop music.[8] As the song progresses, it transcends into a ballad, demonstrating romance, excitement and extreme emotions.[8] "Amor Gitano" is completely dominated by flamenco guitars which is interlaced with alternating vocals.[1] With what has been described as a "thrilling blend of the stars" by James P. Steyer of Common Sense Media, both Beyoncé and Fernández exchange "heated declaration of love and passion."[6] Lyrically the song contains a broader, melodramatic concept of love[8] with Beyoncé and Fernández exchanging words between verses, for instance in one part, Fernández sings "I'm your gypsy, your pilgrim" and Beyoncé replies "I'm going to love you even if they take my heart away."[9]

Release and reception

"Amor Gitano" debuted on February 12, 2007, on the premiere episode of Telemundo's El Zorro novella.

Viento a favor (2007).[13] The promo shoots of the album Viento a favor highlighted the collaboration between Fernández and Beyoncé.[14]

Critical reception

The song garnered generally mixed to positive reception from music critics, most of whom noted that the song may be taken offensively because of its stereotypical lyrics.

Allmusic complimented the writing as well as the production on the song and called it "over-bearing in a positive way."[5] As a positive spoof of the song's premiere on Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa, Billboard created a wanted poster for Fernández, which stated he was wanted "for stealing the hearts of millions" with his performance in the song.[14]

Chart performance

"Amor Gitano" mainly sold in markets with a Latin demographic. It failed to make any impact on the main US

Latin Pop Songs chart, and peaked at number twenty-three.[17] "Amor Gitano" was more successful on Spanish charts. The song peaked at number one on both the Spanish Singles and Download charts.[18][19] It remained at the summit of the singles chart for thirteen weeks from May 28, 2007, to August 27, 2007, until later replaced by "Lamento Boliviano" by Dani Mata. "Amor Gitano" is also Beyoncé's second number-one hit on the Spanish Download Chart (the first was "Beautiful Liar") as well as her first Spanish-language number-one hit.[20] The song was certified eight-times platinum (160,000 copies) for downloads and sixteen-times platinum (320,000 copies) for ringtone sales by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE).[20] It is ranked at number one on the list of best-selling singles in Spain
.

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the

B'Day's liner notes.[21]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[20]
Digital download 		8× Platinum 160,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[20]
Ringtone 		16× Platinum 320,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "Beyonce and Alejandro Fernandez Pair for Duet in Spanish". PR Newswire. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Ramiro Burr (July 7, 2007). "Stars: Alejandro Fernández". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. p. 46. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  3. About.com (Spanish Division). The New York Times Company. April 5, 2007. Archived from the original
    on July 7, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Video:Making of record song Amor Gitano - Beyoncé" (in Spanish). Musicas Enlinea. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  5. ^
    Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Legends Musical Pairing: Alejandro Fernandez and Beyonce". Latin Heat Online. July 2, 2007. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  7. ^ "Music World/Columbia Records Announce the Release of BEYONCE'S 'B'DAY Deluxe Edition,' a New Version of the Grammy-Winning Best Contemporary R&B Album Debuting Five Brand New Songs, & Bonus Disk Premiering Six Spanish Tracks". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. February 27, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "'Amor Gitano' (CD single) by Alejandro Fernandez, Beyonce Knowles - Music Review". Common Sense Media. James P. Steyer. August 28, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  9. ^
    MTV Networks
    . Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  10. IPC Media
    . February 15, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  11. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  12. ^ "Irreemplazable by Beyoncé - Download Irreemplazable on iTunes". iTunes Ireland. Apple Inc. 27 August 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  13. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "His new album Includes the duet 'Amor Gitano' with Beyoncé, Available in stores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. July 7, 2007. p. 2. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  15. ^ Woodard, Joseph (August 15, 2007). "Compas | Music". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  16. ^ Gurza, Agustin (September 15, 2007). "A pop star? A mariachi? Yes, he is - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Alejandro Fernandez Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Spain Singles Chart" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  19. ^ a b "Spanish Download chart" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  20. ^
    PROMUSICAE. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 22 June 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  21. Beyoncé Knowles. Columbia Records. 2007. p. 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  22. ^ Beyoncé & Alejandro Fernandez — Amor Gitano. TopHit. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

External links

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