"Baila Esta Cumbia" (English: "Dance This

Cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

") is a song recorded by American

Tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...

singer

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

for her second studio album, '' Ven Conmigo'' (1990). It was released as the second single by

EMI Latin Capitol Latin (formerly EMI Latin) is a brand of Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group. Previously, it was a subsidiary of EMI. History In 1989, José Behar, the former head of CBS Discos, signed Selena t ...

on August 28, 1990, behind "Ya Ves". It was composed by her brother–producer

A.B. Quintanilla Abraham Isaac Quintanilla III (born December 13, 1963), known professionally as A.B. Quintanilla III or A.B. Quintanilla, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician. Called the " King of Kumbia" (or "King of Cumbia") due to his in ...

, and

Selena y Los Dinos Selena y Los Dinos () was an American Tejano band formed in 1981 by Tejano singer Selena and her father Abraham Quintanilla. The band remained together until the murder of Selena in 1995, which caused the dissolution of the band in the same ye ...

backup dancer,

Pete Astudillo Pedro Astudillo (born on December 1, 1963), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Referred to as "the Latino Babyface" by '' The Daily Journal'', he is credited as a key figure behind Selena's signature music style. As ...

. The recording is an

up-tempo A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings ...

Mexican cumbia Mexican cumbia is a type of cumbia, a music which originated in Colombia but was later reinvented and adapted in Mexico. Origins The cumbia has its origins in Colombia going back at least as far as the early 1800s, with elements from indigeno ...

song. It was well received by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

who enjoyed its cumbia-feel and rhythm. The track received exposure on radio stations that predominately played cumbia music, and as a result the recording became a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

for the singer. It was named among her best recordings in her career by music critics. In 2005, A.B. Quintanilla recorded a remix/duet version of the track with his band

Kumbia Kings The Kumbia Kings are a Mexican-American cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas, created by A.B. Quintanilla. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia, hip hop, and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The producers for th ...

, which peaked at number 16 on the US ''Billboard''

Regional Mexican Airplay In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

chart and number 44 on the

Hot Latin Tracks The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, ...

chart. Other cover versions include recordings by Mexican singers

Diana Reyes Diana Reyes (born November 18, 1979) is a Mexican singer. Reyes was born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and her family hailed from Sinaloa. She has released three gold records since 2004: ''La Reina del Pasito Duranguense'', ''Las No. 1 de la ...

and

Yuridia Yuridia Francisca Gaxiola Flores (born 4 October 1986), known mononymously as Yuridia, is a Mexican singer. She came in second place in the fourth season of the reality show '' La Academia'', which launched her career. She is considered as one ...

Background and release

"Baila Esta Cumbia" was released as the second single from '' Ven Conmigo'' (1990) in the United States and in Mexico. A compilation album of the same name was released in Mexico and sold 150,000 copies. It was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) (English: Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C.) is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in M ...

(AMPROFON), denoting sales of 250,000 units. "Baila Esta Cumbia" was written by Selena's brother and principal record producer,

and

' backup dancer,

. During an interview in 2002, A.B. said that the recording helped the band's exposure on radio stations that predominantly play

cumbia music Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

recordings. The song is an

song. It is set in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

and moves at a moderate rate of 90

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. "Baila Esta Cumbia" is written in the

key Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * K ...

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

. The

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

of the melody extends from the note G₃ to A₄.

Reception and impact

The majority of contemporary reviews on "Baila Esta Cumbia" were positive. ''Billboard'' contributor Ramiro Burr praised the song for its "melodic hook". Burr, who wrote in '' The Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music'' (1999), opined that Selena "evolved a rhythmic style" which paved way for "catchy cumbias", giving "Baila Esta Cumbia" as his example of her "increasing prowess". Italian essayist Gaetano Prampolini, called "Baila Esta Cumbia" a "plain cumbia dance pleasure" in his book ''The Shade of the Saguaro''. In a 2013 contribution to ''

OC Weekly ''OC Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly paper distributed in Orange County and Long Beach, California. It was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007. The paper was distributed at coffee shops, ...

'', Marco Torres added that "Baila Esta Cumbia" is a "fun song" and noted its "lively" addictive nature. John Storm Roberts wrote in his book ''The Latin Tinge'', that the recording is an "up-tempo romantic piece" for his review of Selena's live album, ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (1993). Roberts added that with "

Como la Flor "Como la Flor" ("Like the Flower") is a song recorded by American singer Selena. Written by A. B. Quintanilla and Pete Astudillo, it was released as the second single from her third studio album ''Entre a Mi Mundo'' (1992). A family selling ...

", the two "mixes pop vocalism, some quite free scatting, and a classic banda keyboard sound." Federico Martinez of the San Antonio ''La Prensa'' called the recording "upbeat". Deborah R. Vargas wrote in her book ''Dissonant Divas in Chicana Music: The Limits of la Onda'' (2008), that Selena reconstructed Tejano music with the additions of cumbia music, giving credit to "Baila Esta Cumbia" as an example of Selena's blended musical compositions. The recording became one of Selena's biggest

hit singles A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

. It has appeared on a number of critics' "best Selena songs" lists, including ''OC Weekly'' (at number five), and ''

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

'' magazine (at number three). It entered The TouchTunes Most Played chart on ''Billboard'' on the issue dated April 7, 2001, with 1.5 million airplay spins. The song was included in the set list for the ''

Selena Forever ''Selena Forever ''is an American stage musical, based on the 1997 film ''Selena'', that tells the life of the famous Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. The musical has been staged under two titles. The first, ''Selena Forever'', was conce ...

'' musical, which ran for one year in 2000.

Charts

Certifications and sales

Cover versions

Mexican singer

recorded the song for her album ''Ámame, Bésame'' (2010). Mexican singer

performed "Baila Esta Cumbia" during her tour in Mexico in 2013 to a positive reception.

Kumbia Kings version

"Baila Esta Kumbia" is a song by Mexican-American cumbia group

y Los

featuring Mexican-American singer

. It was released on March 15, 2005 as a single from their album '' Duetos'' (2005). A.B. Quintanilla is the brother of Selena.

Background

Selena's brother and principal record producer, A.B. Quintanilla formed

in 1999. In 2005, the band remixed "Baila Esta Cumbia" into a duet version for their album '' Duetos'' under the title "Baila Esta Kumbia". Evan C. Gutierrez music reviewer for

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 ...

believed that the Kumbia Kings' version is a "postmortem love letter" to Selena. Kumbia Kings performed their version for the tribute concert ''

Selena ¡VIVE! Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the " Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers ...

'', which premiered live on

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

on April 7, 2005. The track debuted at number 35 on the US ''Billboard''

chart on the issue dated April 2, 2005. It eventually peaked at number 16.

Personnel

* Written by

and

* Produced by A.B. Quintanilla * Lead vocals by

* Intro and outro by A.B. Quintanilla * Background vocals by A.B. Quintanilla, Fernando "Nando" Domínguez, Frank "Pangie" Pangelinan, and

Abel Talamántez Abel Talamántez Mendoza (born October 16, 1978, in Pecos, Texas), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is currently a vocalist for the bands Cruz Martínez Y Los Super Reyes and Los EnVivo Kings. He is also a former member ...

Charts

References

{{Good article 1990 songs 1990 singles 2005 singles Selena songs Kumbia Kings songs Songs written by A.B. Quintanilla Songs written by Pete Astudillo Song recordings produced by A.B. Quintanilla Songs in Spanish Cumbia songs EMI Latin singles