Los Del Rio

In 1993 Antonio Romeo Monge and Rafael Ruiz, performing as the long-established Spanish flamenco-pop duo Los del Rio, first issued the track “Macarena,” which later ignited one of the decade’s most pervasive dance phenomena yet required nearly three years to reach global audiences. The pair had already spent decades releasing material under that name when a dancer encountered during a visit to Venezuela prompted them to lay down the song. Issued that April on a domestic Spanish imprint, the single quickly caught on locally, elevating the act’s profile to the point that they performed at a special papal concert and attracted the attention of BMG, which secured rights for a U.S. dance-club edition in 1994.

After the Bayside Boys supplied a remix, the record entered the American charts in 1995 and climbed only as far as number 45 by December. Sustained club rotation and mounting word-of-mouth kept momentum alive, however, and the single finally topped the chart in July 1996. It remained at number one for fourteen consecutive weeks, spanning the balance of summer and the greater part of autumn, and ultimately surpassed four million copies sold. The accompanying dance became a familiar sight both in ballparks and nightspots, securing “Macarena” the title of the year’s most successful single. Baila appeared in 1999.