“Mi Tierra” (My Homeland) is a 1993 song by Cuban American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan, released as the first single from her first Spanish language album, Mi Tierra (1993). It is written by her with Estefano, based on inspirations by Estefan. The song is a tribute to Gloria’s homeland Cuba—the principal reason for the making of the album. It was first released in the United States and song reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart, and was her first No. 1 hit since the Spanish version of “Don’t Wanna Lose You” in 1989. This song was also Gloria’s first No. 1 in Spain, which led the album to become the most successful album released in the country for its sales of more than a million. The song was one of the first Spanish-language songs to reach the Top 40 on some English language countries like the UK, a record-breaking honour which would set the tone for the success of future Latin-American and Hispanic artists.
“Ave Maria” is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin prayer, originally published in 1853 as “Méditation sur le Premier Prélude de Piano de J.S. Bach”. The piece consists of a melody by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod that he superimposed over an only very slightly changed version of Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of his The Well Tempered Clavier, 1722. It was published with a French text in 1853, but it was the 1859 version with the Latin Ave Maria which became popular. It was recorded by Lesley Garrett and Amanda Thompson in 1993. It peaked at No.16 on the Christmas Official Singles Chart inthe UK.
“Libiamo Ne’ Lieti Calici” (“Let’s drink from the joyful cups”) is a famous duet with chorus from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata (1853), one of the best-known opera melodies and a popular performance choice (as is this opera itself) for many great tenors. The song is a brindisi, a lively song that encourages the drinking of wine or other alcoholic beverages. The duet is performed in the first act of the opera, during a late-night party at Violetta Valéry’s house. It is sung by Violetta and Alfredo Germont, a young man who is in love with her. Alfredo is convinced by his friend Gastone and by Violetta to show off his voice. He begins this drinking song, later joined by Violetta and the rest of the company. It was released as a single by Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo And Luciano Pavarotti from their live album ‘The Three Tenors’ in 1994 and it reached No. 21 in the Uk charts.
“Pour Que Tu M’aimes Encore” (“So That You’ll Love Me Again’) is a French-language song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her French studio album, D’Eux (1995). It was released as the lead single in March 1995 in Francophone countries and in September 1995 in other European countries. According to Dion, it is the biggest song of her French career. She also recorded it in English as “If That’s What it Takes” and included it on her 1996 album, Falling Into You. “Pour que tu m’aimes encore” became a smash hit in France, where it topped the singles chart for 12 weeks, it also reached top 10 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which was an exceptional achievement for a song in French.
“Macarena” is a Spanish dance song by Latin pop duo Los Del Rio, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Appearing on the 1993 album A Mi Me Gusta, it was an international hit and dance craze in the latter half of 1996 and part of 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 Billbord’s All Time Top 100. It also ranked at No. 1 on Billboard’s All Time Latin Songs. In the UK the song was released in June 1996 and peaked at No. 2 in August.
