"Contigo En La Distancia" (''With you in the distance'') is a

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

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. Nowadays it is one of the most acclaimed boleros in Cuban music, having been interpreted by a multitude of singers such as

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...

Pedro Infante Pedro Infante Cruz (; 18 November 1917 – 15 April 1957) was a Mexican ranchera singer and actor whose career spanned the golden age of Mexican cinema. Infante was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and raised in nearby Guamúchil. He died on 15 Apri ...

Pablo Milanés Pablo Milanés Arias (24 February 1943 – 22 November 2022) was a Cuban guitar player and singer. He was one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. His music, originating in the Trova, Son and ...

Joan Manuel Serrat Joan Manuel Serrat Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer, and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both Spanish and Catalan languages. Serrat's lyrical style has b ...

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer. Also known as ''El Príncipe de la Canción'' (The Prince of Song), his performance and vocal style have influenced ma ...

María Dolores Pradera María Dolores Fernández Pradera (29 August 1924 – 28 May 2018) was a Spanish melodic singer and actress, and one of the most famous voices in Spain and Latin America. She started her career as an actress and during the 1950s she started sin ...

and Belinda, Ana Belén, among others.

Background and composition

"Contigo en la Distancia" was written by Cuban guitarist César Portillo de la Luz. Born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

while working. Portillo de la Luz was introduced to filin (a form of

music influenced by jazz) 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. In 1946, he made his debut as a professional guitar player on radio and a weekly slot on

Radio Mil Diez Radio Mil Diez (or Radio 1010) was a radio station broadcasting from Havana, Cuba, owned by the Popular Socialist Party (PSP). Radio Mil Diez broadcast for five years, between 1943 and 1948, and played an important role in shaping contemporary Cu ...

followed, which increased his popularity. "Contigo en la Distancia", recorded in the same year, was released when filin was gaining popularity in Cuba. Portillo de la Luz's recording of the song was included on a compilation album titled ''Un Momento con Portillo de la Luz''.

Performers

Luis Miguel version

Mexican singer

released the 1991 album '' Romance'', which was produced by Miguel and Mexican singer-songwriter

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful comp ...

, and included a selection of classic boleros. The success of the album revived the interest for bolero, even though the new musical arrangements of the songs make them unrecognizable. ''Romance'' received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for

Best Latin Pop Performance The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors in ...

(which it lost to

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-se ...

's '' Otro Día Más Sin Verte''), was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and sold seven million copies worldwide. "Contigo en la Distancia" was released as the album's third single in Mexico in July 1992. 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. 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". 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.

Christina Aguilera version

In 2000, American recording artist

covered "Contigo en la Distancia" on her second studio album ''

Mi Reflejo (English: ''My Reflection'') is the second studio album and first Spanish-language album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on September 12, 2000, as a joint effort between RCA Records and BMG U.S. Latin. After the commerc ...

'' 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. Aguilera's cover received mixed reactions from music critics. In the review for ''Mi Reflejo'', an editor for ''

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 ...

'' called Aguilera's rendition the "most breathtaking cover" of the song while Eliseo Cardona of

CDNow CDnow, Inc. was a dot-com company that operated an online shopping website selling compact discs and music-related products. In April 1998, during the dot-com bubble, the company was valued at over $1billion (~$ in ). In July 2000, it was acqui ...

referred to it as the "album's finest moments". However, Ernesto Lechner 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 ...

'' criticized her vocals in the song and felt she "turns a gem of understatement into bloated confection". 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 The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

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". Aguilera herself called "Contigo en la Distancia" her personal favorite song from ''Mi Reflejo''. In December 2019, Aguilera performed the song, along with " Falsas Esperanzas" and " Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti", during the Mexican leg of her concert tour, The X Tour. In July 2021, she performed "Contigo en la Distancia" for two nights at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

with

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor. He is currently the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is scheduled to become the Music and Artistic ...

and the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

Il Divo version

, the vocal quartet of male singers; Swiss tenor

Urs Buhler Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or Urus (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc. the ...

, 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).

Other versions

José José

«Contigo en la distancia» is a cover of the Mexican singer

included on his 1973 album "Hasta que vuelvas", under the RCA Victor record label.ITUNES music José José helped popularize the song worldwide by placing the singer and the song in the first places of popularization.

Plácido Domingo

«Contigo en la distancia» is a cover of the Spanish tenor

for his album titled ''Passion'' published on January 29, 2013, produced by David Foster.+

María Dolores Pradera

«With you in the distance» is a cover of the singer

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'' *

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American singer and songwriter. At the age of ten, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years ol ...

David Bisbal David Bisbal Ferre (born 5 June 1979) is a Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor. He gained his initial fame as the runner-up on the first edition of the reality television talent show '' Operación Triunfo''. He has since released five studi ...

* David Lee Garza *

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

Dyango José Gómez Romero, artistically known as Dyango (born March 5, 1940), nicknamed "The Voice of Love", is a Spanish musician and singer of romantic music. He is widely regarded as one of the most romantic Spanish singers, and one of the best ...

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (; born September 10, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' " Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "". Music genres he explo ...

Olga Guillot Olga Guillot (October 9, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was a Cuban singer who was known as the "Queen of Bolero". She was a native of Santiago de Cuba. Biography Daughter of Catalan-Jewish immigrants who moved to Cuba, her father was a tailor and her ...

* Eugenia Leon * Los Machucambos *

Ricardo Montaner Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner (born 8 September 1957), better known as Ricardo Montaner (), is an Argentine-born Venezuelan singer. Since starting his career in the late 1970s, he has released more than 24 albums, and many successful singles ...

* Belinda * Luis Salinas * Susana Zabaleta *

Lucho Gatica Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...

References

{{authority control 1946 songs 1992 singles Boleros Cuban songs Christina Aguilera songs Luis Miguel songs Songs in Spanish