"Quiero" (English: "I Want") 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 ...

song by Guatemalan recording artist

Ricardo Arjona Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales (born 19 January 1964), known as Ricardo Arjona (), is a Guatemalan singer and songwriter. He is one of the most successful and best-selling Latin American artists of all time, with more than 20 million records sold ...

. It was released as the second single from his

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Quién Dijo Ayer'' (2007). Written by Arjona, the song was produced by Dan Warner, Lee Levin and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter

Tommy Torres Tomás Torres Carrasquillo (; born November 25, 1971), known professionally as Tommy Torres (), is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and record producer.(4 April 2008)Latin songwriter/producer releases solo disc, ''Reuters'' Named "#1 Hot Lat ...

, who also worked with Arjona on ''

Adentro ''Adentro'' () is the tenth studio album by Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona, released on December 6, 2005, by Sony Music Entertainment. Recorded in the United States and Mexico, the album was produced by Arjona himself, as well as Dan ...

''. "Quiero" was recorded between several studios in Miami and Mexico City, and mixed and mastered in New York City. The song was called "bohemian" and "hippie" by website ADN Mundo, stating that it was "a love story that doesn't speak about love". "Quiero" became a moderate commercial success, reaching number 12 on the US ''

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 ...

Top Latin Songs 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, and number eight at the

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. It also managed to appear at number 11 on the

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

chart, and received an

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

for Pop/Ballad Song of the year in 2009. Its accompanying music video, directed by Ricardo Calderón and featuring Dominican model and former

Miss Dominican Republic Miss Dominican Republic () is an annual national beauty pageant that selects the Dominican Republic's official representative to Miss Universe—one of the Big Four International beauty pageants. History Amelia Vega, Miss Universe 2003 win ...

Massiel Taveras, was filmed in the Dominican Republic and premiered in November 2007.

Background

In a press conference, Arjona stated that "yesterday is the cumulus of this that put us here, which raised us and made us what we are, for good or bad."Cruz Bárcenas, Arturo (November 22, 2007)
"''Quién dijo ayer'', un disco difícil sobre el pasado"
La Jornada (

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

). Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. Retrieved on May 12, 2012. He also said that ''Quién Dijo Ayer'' was more than a compilation, and that "it's an album with all the features of the typical greatest hits disc." He further stated that, at first, it was "an album that began as an experiment, with a dose of informality" but later became "very complicated" thanks to the work done by the producers. After spending the majority of his career signed to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, and later,

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 ...

, Arjona signed a long-term recording deal with

Warner Music Latina Warner Music Latina Inc. (formerly WEA Latina) is a record label part of Warner Music Group that focuses on Latin music. The record label was established in 1987. List of artists currently on Warner Music Latina *Alaya * Alex Ubago * Andrés Ca ...

in September 2008.Cobo, Leila (September 22, 2008)
"Ricardo Arjona Signs With Warner Music Latina"
''Billboard''. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved on March 23, 2012. This departure made ''Quien Dijo Ayer'' the last album the artist directly released on his former label, although Sony later released another album named '' Simplemente Lo Mejor''.

Composition

"Quiero" is a

song written and performed by Arjona. It was produced by

, Dan Warner and Lee Levin. The song was recorded between five studios in Miami: The Tiki Room, Picks & Hammers, Jet Wash Studio, The Hit Factory Criteria and Hit Masters; and on Jocoteco Studios in Mexico City. "Quién" was mixed in Barking Doctor Studios in New York City by Mick Guzauski, and mastered by Vlado Meller at the Sony Music Studios on that city. Website ADN Mundo called the song "

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

" and "

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

", saying it was "a love story that doesn't speak about love, but instead about the recent events on the world we live and finally comes to the search of an individual who challenges nostalgia finding entertainment on the impossible.""Ricardo Arjona volvió con disco nuevo, y viejos temas"
. ADN Mundo. Retrieved on May 2, 2012. In 2009, "Quiero" was awarded, along with other selected songs, the Pop/Ballad Songs of the year award by the

Music video

The music video for "Quiero" was filmed in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. It premiered in November 2007."Arjona ya tiene listo su nuevo video"
. ADN Mundo. Retrieved on May 2, 2012. Directed by Mexican filmmaker Ricardo Calderón, it was protagonized by Dominican model and former

titleholder Massiel Taveras."Ricardo Arjona en RD"
Listín Diario. Retrieved on May 2, 2012. During the shooting of the video, Arjona commented that the Dominican Republic was "an incredible country, filled with very helpful and wonderful people." He also stated that he felt compromise of promoting the island. The clip, filmed in black-and-white, shows Arjona singing and playing the piano close to the beach edge. Arjona's scenes are interpolated with aerial takes of the beach, as well as scenes of Taveras before several people start submerging into the water. Then, Arjona submerges himself, and the video ends.

Charts

Personnel

Taken from the album's booklet. *

– lead vocals *

– background vocals, chord arrangement, recording engineer *Dan Warner — chord arrangement, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, recording engineer *Lee Levin — chord arrangement, drum, percussion, recording engineer *Matt Rollings — acoustic piano *Pete Wallace –

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, addicional keyboards *Bob St. John — recording engineer *Carlos Alvarez — recording engineer *Chris Zalles — recording engineer *Isaías G. Asbun — recording engineer *Vlado Meller — mastering engineer *Tom Bender — mixing assistant *Mick Guzauski — mixing engineer

Notes

References

{{good article 2007 songs Ricardo Arjona songs Songs written by Ricardo Arjona 2007 singles Sony BMG Norte singles Songs in Spanish