La Isla Bonita
La Isla Bonita ( the beautiful Island Spanish) is a song by Madonna from 1987. It was the time of publication, the fifth and final single from her third studio album True Blue. La Isla Bonita was published on February 25, 1987 by Sire Records.
History
The song is the first Madonna song Spanish influence by Cuban percussion and Spanish guitar, maracas, harmonicas and a mix of electronic and real percussion instruments. The text of the song is about a beautiful island and was - according to Madonna - a tribute to the beauty of Latin America.
La Isla Bonita reached worldwide popularity, number 1 on the charts in the UK, Germany, France and Belgium and number four in the United States. In the accompanying music video Madonna depicts two opposite characters - a pious girl and a passionate Latina. The Latin style and the flamenco red dress she wore became a fashion trend. The song is one of the most performed live songs by Madonna, appearing in five of their tour travels around the world, including Sticky & Sweet Tour ( 2008-09 ). Madonna sings the song regularly in the Spanish form, sometimes with ethnic or folk songs and remixes. The song has been covered by a number of artists, including French pop singer Alizée for her album Psychédélices of 2007.
Formation
La Isla Bonita was written by Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch. The melody was previously designed as a suit for a mythical Spanish island called San Pedro and was offered to Michael Jackson for his album Bad; However, he refused. While working with Leonard on the True Blue album Madonna picked up the song. The lyrics were changed a lot and so they could be listed as co-author. The song was the first song by Madonna in Spanish. The Spanish theme manifested itself in the text to Who's That Girl, Spanish Eyes, I'm Going Bananas, the Spanish version of You'll See ( Veras ) Be Careful, a duet with Ricky Martin, Sorry, Lo Que Siente La Mujer - the version in Spanish for her song What It Feels Like for a girl and Spanish Lesson on the album Hard Candy Madonna described the song as her tribute to the " beauty and mystery of Latin American people ."
Composition
La Isla Bonita is a pop song in the Spanish style. It is one of the most characteristic works of the collaboration between Madonna and Patrick Leonard. The song is written in the key of C sharp minor and has original length of 3:55 minutes, and a tempo of 95 beats per minute. Madonna's vocal range is two octaves between the G3 to C5. The song begins with a Cuban drum, before the descent takes place in synthetic beats and the sounds of the Spanish guitar. After the second chorus there is a Spanish guitar as an interlude.
Music Video
The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, directed by Mary Lambert, who was for a number of Madonna's videos in the 1980s, responsible among other things, "Borderline" and " Like a Prayer ". Actor Benicio del Toro appeared in the video in the background. The video world premiere was on MTV on March 6, 1987. It started with showing a number of Latin American people dancing in a Spanish barrio. Madonna plays two different characters: a boyishly dressed Catholic woman and a colorful Flamenco dancer. Once the video shows a sparsely decorated room with an altar and pictures of Hispanic people on the wall. Madonna plays a pale -looking pious girl wearing a white skirt and the short hair is brushed backwards. She cries in her room and reluctantly ignores the invitation of the Latinos in the street to join them. The austerity and the passivity of the first character is, however, in contrast to the passion and the activity of the second character. Madonna wears in this illustration a red voluminous extravagant Spanish dress with a neckline and red carnations in her hair.