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

Latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

duet recorded by Mexican singer

Alejandro Fernández Alejandro Fernández Abarca (; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, he is the son of the Mexican singer Vicente Fernández. Nicknamed as " El Potrillo" by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million rec ...

and American singer-songwriter

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. The song contains a mixture of cultures, mostly influenced by the language of Fernández, that is Spanish, and Beyoncé's

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and R&B influences. Along with Jaime Flores and

Reyli Barba Reyli Barba (born April 12, 1972), most commonly known as Reyli, is a Mexican singer-songwriter. He is also a composer and has written songs for artists such as Alejandro Fernández and Beyoncé Knowles. Reyli is a former member of Elefante, a ...

, Beyoncé wrote the song, while

Rudy Pérez Rudy Amado Pérez (born May 14, 1958) is a Cuban-born American musician, songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, sound engineer, musical director and singer, as well as entertainment entrepreneur, and philanthropist. His area of specialty is ...

and Beyoncé herself produced the song. "Amor Gitano" serves as the theme song of the telenovela '' 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

flamenco pop New flamenco (or ''nuevo flamenco'') or flamenco fusion is a musical genre that was born in Spain, starting in the 1980s. It combines flamenco guitar virtuosity and traditional flamenco music with musical fusion (with genres like jazz, blues, ro ...

genre of the song, others criticized the song for being somehow offensive due to the stereotypical lyrics. Although it failed to make any impact on the main US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, it charted on a few ''Billboard'' component charts, peaking at number twenty-three on the US

Latin Pop Songs The '' Billboard'' Latin pop charts began in 1985 when an album chart were introduced as Latin Pop Albums in the June 29 issue of the magazine. In October 1994, ''Billboard'' then established Latin Pop Airplay, which initially rank the most-played ...

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 "Beautiful Liar" is a song by American singer Beyoncé and Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was written by Beyoncé, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench, and Stargate members Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Bey ...

" (2007). As of 2019, "Amor Gitano" is one of the best-selling singles in Spain of all time.

Background and recording

"Amor Gitano" originated from the collaboration of

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

's biggest talents and greatest assets. Kevin Lawrie, President of Sony BMG Latin America, contacted the Sony Entertainment Television Latin America as well as the producers of '' El Zorro'' to come up with a theme song for the telenovela. At the same time, Beyoncé and Fernandez were in the process of selecting material for their respective upcoming projects. Paul Forat, the Vice President of the

Artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters. It also acts as a l ...

division of Sony Entertainment Television Latin America, first heard the song from

and felt it could be perfect for Fernandez. Lawrie later contacted Mathew Knowles, President and CEO

Music World Entertainment Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé a ...

, about Beyoncé's Spanish material, and the duet song was recorded partly at The Beach House Recording Studios in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and at the Rock the Mic Studios in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in mid January 2007, with Rudy Perez. In an interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 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." 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. 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." According to Beyoncé's publicity material, she grew up in a

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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." A "Making of ..." video was created while Beyoncé was recording the song with Fernández. While creating the song, Beyoncé had producer Rudy Perez coach her in her Spanish, as she did not want to misrepresent the language.

Music and theme

The song was written by Reyli Barba, formerly of the band Elefante, who has worked with Fernández on multiple occasions. Additional writing was done by Jaime Flores and Beyoncé. "Amor Gitano" was produced by Beyoncé as well as Rudy Perez. Labeled as inappropriate for those under the age of 14 by

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

, the song features negative stereotyping of

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

or Gypsy people. The entire song is sung in Spanish; the English translation of the title is "Gypsy Love". The song contains hints of

and strong lyrics dominate the entire track. After opening with "traditional flamenco sounds and generic Gypsy Kings-style guitarra riffs", "Amor Gitano" adds hints of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

. As the song progresses, it transcends into a ballad, demonstrating romance, excitement and extreme emotions. "Amor Gitano" is completely dominated by flamenco guitars which is interlaced with alternating vocals. With what has been described as a "thrilling blend of the stars" by James P. Steyer of

, both Beyoncé and Fernández exchange "heated declaration of love and passion." Lyrically the song contains a broader, melodramatic concept of love 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."

Release and reception

"Amor Gitano" debuted on February 12, 2007, on the premiere episode of Telemundo's ''El Zorro'' novella. The song was the first included on Beyonce's second studio album ''

B'Day ''B'Day'' is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on August 31, 2006, by Columbia Records, Music World Entertainment and Sony Urban Music. Originally set to be released in 2004, ''B'Day'' was plan ...

'', where it was included on the second disc of the albums deluxe edition which included an additional six Spanish-language tracks. The song was released as a bonus track on all European releases of the original ''B'Day'' albums. "Amor Gitano" also serves as the opening track of Beyoncé's EP '' Irreemplazable''. "Amor Gitano" was also included on Fernández's twelfth studio album '' Viento a favor'' (2007). The promo shoots of the album ''Viento a favor'' highlighted the collaboration between Fernández and Beyoncé.

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. The song has been described as a "plaintive ballad" by Joseph Woodard of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''.

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-based

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

gave the song a mixed review, stating that it should remain an album track rather than a single. They stated, "With Beyoncé doing a pretty good job of phonetically singing in Spanish (the occasional verb phrase doesn't blend), this is more about novelty than about being a great single." Agustin Gurza of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' gave the song a positive review, naming it a stand-out track off of Alejandro's ''Viento a favor''. Jason Birchmeier of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

complimented the writing as well as the production on the song and called it "over-bearing in a positive way." As a positive spoof of the song's premiere on ''Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa'', ''

'' created a

wanted poster A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

for Fernández, which stated he was wanted "for stealing the hearts of millions" with his performance in the song.

Chart performance

"Amor Gitano" mainly sold in markets with a Latin demographic. It failed to make any impact on the main US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. However, the single charted on the US

chart, and peaked at number twenty-three. "Amor Gitano" was more successful on Spanish charts. The song peaked at number one on both the Spanish Singles and Download charts. 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 "

") as well as her first Spanish-language number-one hit. 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 Productores de Música de España (; shortened as Promusicae) is the national organisation responsible for the music charts of Spain. it is a trade association that represents more than 90% of the Spanish recorded music industry. It is the Inter ...

(PROMUSICAE). It is ranked at number one on the

list of best-selling singles in Spain This is a list of best-selling singles in Spain, some of which have been certified by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE). All of these singles have multi-platinum certifications. Records Ordered by highest-selling to lowest-sel ...

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the ''

's'' liner notes. *Aureo Baqueiro – vocal direction *Andrés Bermúdez –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

–

writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

*Jasmin Cruz –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

*Paco "El Sevillano" – gypsy chant *

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Jaime Flores – writing *Paul Forat – artists and repertoire *Max Gousse – artists and repertoire * *

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

– writing,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, vocals *

Mathew Knowles Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé a ...

– artists and repertoire *David Lopez – assistant recording, assistant mixing *Vlado Meller – mastering *

– production,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

, keyboards,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, Spanish guitars, backing vocals, vocal direction *

Clay Perry Clair Willard Perry (1887–1961), called Clay Perry, was an American writer and outdoorsman. He coined the term " spelunker". Biography Born in 1887 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, Perry moved to western Massachusetts as a young man. A novelist, short st ...

– keyboards, programming,

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

, recording *Rene Lus Toledo – Spanish guitars *Bruce Weeden – mixing *Shane Woodley – assistant recording

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, - , -

Notes

External links

Music Stack
{{authority control 2007 singles Alejandro Fernández songs Beyoncé songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Rudy Pérez Number-one singles in Spain Pop ballads Songs in Spanish Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Beyoncé Song recordings produced by Rudy Pérez Song recordings produced by Beyoncé Telenovela theme songs 2000s ballads Songs written by Reyli 2007 songs