Contigo en la Distancia

"Contigo En La Distancia" (With you in the distance) is a bolero which was written by the Cuban singer-songwriter César Portillo de la Luz when he was 24 years old. It was written in the year 1946.

"Contigo en la Distancia"
Song
LanguageSpanish
Published1946 (1946)
GenreBolero
Songwriter(s)César Portillo de la Luz

Nowadays it is one of the most acclaimed boleros in Cuban music, having been interpreted by a multitude of singers such as Il Divo, Pedro Infante, Pablo Milanés, Joan Manuel Serrat, Christina Aguilera, Luis Miguel, Caetano Veloso, Plácido Domingo, José José, María Dolores Pradera and Belinda, among others.[1]

Background and composition

"Contigo en la Distancia" was written by Cuban guitarist César Portillo de la Luz. Born in Havana, Cuba to a cigar-roller, Portillo taught himself play the guitar. At first, he painted houses to earn his living and would listen to jazz while working. Portillo de la Luz was introduced to filin (a form of bolero music influenced by jazz)[2] by trovador musician Angel Díaz when Portillo de la Luz was performing at a friend's house. Diaz invited Portillo de la Luz to perform with the rest of the filin musicians at the Callejón de Hemmel.[3] In 1946, he made his debut as a professional guitar player on radio and a weekly slot on Radio Mil Diez followed, which increased his popularity. "Contigo en la Distancia", recorded in the same year, was released when filin was gaining popularity in Cuba.[4] Portillo de la Luz's recording of the song was included on a compilation album titled Un Momento con Portillo de la Luz.[3]

Performers

Luis Miguel version
"Contigo en la Distancia"
Single by Luis Miguel
from the album Romance
ReleasedJuly 1992[5]
Recorded1991, Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California)
GenreBolero
Length3:23
LabelWEA Latina
Songwriter(s)César Portillo de la Luz
Producer(s)Armando Manzanero, Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel singles chronology
"No Sé Tú"
(1992)		 "Contigo en la Distancia"
(1992)		 "América, América"
(1992)

Mexican singer Luis Miguel released the 1991 album Romance, which was produced by Miguel and Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero, and included a selection of classic boleros.[6] The success of the album revived the interest for bolero, even though the new musical arrangements of the songs make them unrecognizable.[6] Romance received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Pop Performance (which it lost to Jon Secada's Otro Día Más Sin Verte),[7] was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and sold seven million copies worldwide.[8] "Contigo en la Distancia" was released as the album's third single in Mexico on July 1992.[5] The music video for song was directed by Pedro Torres and filmed in Miami, it features Miguel and an orchestra performing in front of a building.[9][10] Mark Holston reviewed Miguel's cover version positively in the magazine Américas as "among the great ballads of all time and Miguel pays them full respect".[11]

A live version of "Contigo en la Distancia" was included on the EP América & En Vivo in 1992 and its music video was added to the video compilation album Grandes Éxitos in 2005.[12][13]

Christina Aguilera version
"Contigo en la Distancia"
Song by Christina Aguilera
from the album Mi Reflejo
Released2000
GenreLatin pop
Length3:04
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)César Portillo de la Luz
Producer(s)Rudy Pérez

In 2000, American recording artist Christina Aguilera covered "Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti" on her second studio album Mi Reflejo which was produced by Rudy Pérez. According to Aguilera, she wanted to record the song after hearing Pérez play it during a recording session break.[14] Aguilera's cover received mixed reactions from music critics. In the review for Mi Reflejo, an editor for Billboard called Aguilera's rendition the "most breathtaking cover" of the song while Eliseo Cardona of CDNow referred to it as the "album's finest moments".[15] However, Ernesto Lechner of the Los Angeles Times criticized her vocals in the song and felt she "turns a gem of understatement into bloated confection".[16] Kembrew McLeod wrote for Sonic.net opined that the usage of the Spanish guitars did not make the song authentically "Latin" while Kurt B. Reighley from Wall of Sound also criticized Aguilera's vocals by calling it "over the top" and stated she "cranks up her volume to ear-shattering levels, trying to wring emotion from each syllable in the same way that ordinary mortals squeeze dishwater from a sponge".[17][18]

Il Divo version
"Contigo en la Distancia"
Single by Il Divo
from the album Amor & Pasión
ReleasedNovember 2015
Recorded2015, México
GenreClassical crossover
LabelSony Music, Syco Music and Columbia Records.
Songwriter(s)César Portillo de la Luz
Producer(s)Julio Reyes Copello
  • Il Divo, the vocal quartet of male singers; Swiss tenor Urs Buhler, Spanish baritone Carlos Marin, American tenor David Miller and French pop singer Sébastien Izambard, along with Colombian producer winner of multiple Grammy Latino Julio Reyes Copello, recorded the song for the album Amor & Pasión from Il Divo (2015).[19]

Other versions

José José

«Contigo en la distancia» is a cover of the Mexican singers José José for his album José José 40 Anniversary, Vol. 4 published on July 6, 1999 by the stamp BMG Entertainment.[20]

Plácido Domingo

«Contigo en la distancia» is a cover of the Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo for his album titled Passion published on January 29, 2013 produced by David Foster.[20]+

María Dolores Pradera

«With you in the distance» is a cover of the singer María Dolores Pradera for his album titled sing You a bolero published in 2008 in collaboration with The Sabandeños. Later it goes back to record in 2013 for the disk Thanks to you to duet with Sole Giménez.

Other interpreters

Only it shows some of the most stood out interpretations

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References
  1. The New
  2. Sheperd, John; Horn, David (March 13, 2014). Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 9: Genres: Caribbean and Latin America. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 298. ISBN 9781441132253. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  3. Sweeney, Philip (2001). The rough guide to Cuban music. Rough Guides. pp. 148–. ISBN 9781858287614.
  4. Sublette, Ned (2007). Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781569764206.
  5. Arias, Vilo (July 7, 1992). "Hit Parade". El Informador (in Spanish). Unión Editorialista. p. 12-E.
  6. Morales, Ed (2003). The Latin Beat: The Rhythms And Roots Of Latin Music From Bossa Nova To Salsa And Beyond. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. p. 155. ISBN 0306810182.
  7. Kellner, Elena (February 11, 1993). "Latin Beat to Accent Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  8. Levin, Jordan (February 15, 2002). "Luis Miguel: Love And The Limelight". The Miami Herald. Puerto Rico Herald. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  9. Calzada, Gloria (December 22, 1992). "Comentarios de..." [Comments From...]. El Informador (in Spanish). Unión Editorialista. p. 8-E.
  10. Hernández, Elizabeth (September 21, 2004). "'Luis Miguel' es un caballero" [Luis Miguel is a gentleman]. El Universal (in Spanish). Compañía Periodística Nacional. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  11. Holston, Mark (1992). "Music Notes". Américas. Organization of American States. 44 (4): 56–57. ISSN 0379-0940.
  12. "Grandes Exitos – Luis Miguel". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  13. "América & En Vivo – Luis Miguel". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  14. Cobo, Leila (August 12, 2000). "Aguilera Makes Spanish Debut On BMG U.S. Latin". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 112 (33): 85. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  15. "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 112 (38): 27. September 16, 2000. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  16. Lechner, Ernesto (September 16, 2000). "Heritage Aside, Aguilera Doesn't Translate". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  17. McLeod, Kembrew (September 18, 2000). "Se Habla Español". Sonicnet. Archived from the original on December 12, 2000.
  18. Reighley, Kurt. "Wall of Sound Review: Mi Reflejo". Go.com. Walt Disney Internet Group. Archived from the original on October 17, 2000.
  19. sebastienizambard.net, ed. (November 25, 2015). "NEW IL DIVO ALBUM AMOR & PASION OUT NOVEMBER 2015". Archived from the original on September 28, 2015.
  20. ITUNES music
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