"El reloj" () is a song of the
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 has ...
genre, with music and lyrics by Mexican composer and singer
Roberto Cantoral
Roberto Cantoral García (7 June 1935 – 7 August 2010) was a Mexican composer, singer and songwriter. He was known for composing a string of hit Mexican songs, including "El Triste", "Al Final", "La Barca" and " El Reloj" The Sociedad de Auto ...
, then a member of the Los Tres Caballeros trio.
History
Cantoral composed the song in 1956, in
Washington D.C., in front of the
Potomac River, at the end of a Los Tres Caballeros tour of the
United States. During the tour he had had an affair with one of the girls participating in the show, who was to return to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
the next morning. This love episode, and the presence of a lounge clock during their last meeting, were the events that inspired Cantoral, who would soon turn the relatively trivial episode into the story of a deep love.
Los Tres Caballeros premiered the song in 1957 and it was an immediate success. The following year it was recorded by trio
Los Panchos in 1958. Since then, it has been interpreted by countless artists, in several languages. Lines from the song feature in a scene from the biographical film ''
Selena'' in which
Abraham Quintanilla teaches them to his daughter,
Selena, by way of introducing her to the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
side of her
Chicano heritage.
[Christy Huffman.]
"El reloj: the clock"
''Corsicana Daily Sun'', 16 December 2018.
Interpreters of "El reloj"
;Spanish version
:*
José José
:*
Il Volo
Il Volo (; Italian for "The Flight") is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of baritone Gianluca Ginoble, and tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, the ...
:*
Juan d'Arienzo
:*
José Feliciano
:*
Lucho Gatica (
Latin Grammy Hall of Fame inductee)
:*
Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...
(#2
Hot Latin Tracks, #1
Latin Pop Airplay; recipient of the
BMI Latin Award in 1999)
:*
Los Panchos
:*
Neil Sedaka
:*
:es:Jorge Valdez
:*
French Latino
;Japanese version
:*
Chiemi Eri
:*
ja:Graciela Susana
:*
ja:Teruhiko Aoi
:*
ja:Jun Anna
:*
ja:Yoichi Sugawara
:*
ja:Hiroshi Mizuhara
See also
*
List of Billboard Latin Pop Airplay number ones of 1997
Latin Pop Airplay is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on Latin pop radio stations in the United States, based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcas ...
References
External links
El reloj (Youtube: Original version of 1957 by Los Tres Caballeros)
1957 songs
1997 singles
Boleros
Mexican songs
Spanish-language songs
Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Luis Miguel songs
Song recordings produced by Luis Miguel
Warner Music Latina singles
Songs written by Roberto Cantoral
{{Song-stub