"Tres Deseos" (in English: ''Three Wishes'') is a merengue and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

song by Cuban American singer-songwriter

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

, released in 1996 as a promotional single from her second

Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

album, '' Abriendo Puertas'' (1995). An upbeat

Latin dance Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America, though a few styles originated elsewhere. The category of Latin dance ...

song, it was the first promotional single released worldwide from the album. In Japan, it was released as a CD

maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

Remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es of the song were produced by

Rosabel Rosabel is an American house music duo consisting of disc jockey, DJ/Record producer, producers Ralphi Rosario from Chicago, Illinois and Abel Aguilera from Miami, Florida. Already successful Dance music, club/dance artists individually, the d ...

, and with their help the song successfully made it to number one 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 ...

Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. It become popular at Estefan's concerts as a medley with her song, '' Higher'' from the album ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

''.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' wrote, "Latest offering from La Gloria's oh-so-fab '' Abriendo Puertas'' opus features the singer gingerly vamping and chanting over a percolating Latin-house groove. Club DJs are given a wealth of fine remixes to choose from, ranging from

Ralphi Rosario Ralphi Rosario is an American house musician and founding member of the influential Chicago DJ group Hot Mix 5. Biography When Hot Mix 5 was formed in 1981 on radio station WBMX (now WVAZ), Rosario, the youngest member of the group, was still in ...

and Abel Aguilera's stompin' tribal-house versions to

Pablo Flores Pablo Flores is a Puerto Rican DJ, record producer, remixer and arranger. Remixes for Gloria Estefan * " Abriendo Puertas" * " Bad Boy" * "Bailando!'" (Special edition Megamix) * "Betcha Say That" * "Cherchez La Femme" * " Como Me Duele Perde ...

and

Javier Garza Javier Garza is an American sound engineer and mixer from Florida. Garza has done production work on a large number of successful major-label albums since 1990, and has won two Grammy Awards and nine Latin Grammy Awards. Among the artists whose mus ...

's more traditional tropical mixes. Regardless of your choice, you get an ample dose of Estefan's loose, fun performance and a tune built on a tightly constructed melody. Simply put, ya can't lose with this one!" Chuck Campbell from ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', also known as ''Knox News'', is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: '' ...

'' remarked the "hyper-complex melody lines" of "Tres Deseos". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' described it as "one of the more 'latin' tracks" of the ''Abriendo Puertas'' album, "which has Estefan exploring her origins, while not forgetting her international pop status." They added further that "Tres Deseos" "is 100 percent pure undiluted

, just like the extra track, a traditional ''son'' called 'Farolito'. It's sheer pleasure to hear Estefan indulge herself in her Cuban roots." Gerald Martinez from ''

New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' viewed it as "lively merengue", noting that the song features "wonderfully complex horn parts, driving percussion and engaging vocals."

Usage in media

In 1998, the song was featured on the soundtrack for the film '' Dance with Me'', which also featured Estefan's single ''

Heaven's What I Feel "Heaven's What I Feel" is a song recorded by the Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan for her eighth studio album '' gloria!'' (1998). The track's lyrics were written by famed Colombian songwriter Kike Santander, who also produced the t ...

''. In the seventh season of the American television program ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''; actress

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She received many accolades including 22 Primetime Emmy nominations and won eight, tying Julia Louis-Dreyfus ...

used the song on the fifth night of the competition.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of ''Tres Deseos''. * US CD 12" Vinyl Single (EAS 7798) # "Tres Deseos" (Album Version) (03:32) # "Tres Deseos" (Pablo Flores 12" Mix) (06:35) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's Fiesta Mix) (07:29) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's Percapella Beats) (05:45) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's The Three Wish Dub) (07:15) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's Tribe Dub) (07:57) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's The Under Dub) (05:30) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's Bonus Wish Mix) (04:06) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's Tragic Dub) (08:08) # "Tres Deseos" (Rosabel's The More Tragic Dub) (08:15)

Official versions

Original versions # Album version — 3:32 Pablo Flores & Javier Garza Remixes # 12" Remix - 6:41 # 12" Remix Edit — 5:00 Rosabel (Ralphi Rosario & Abel Aguilera) Remixes # Rosabel's Fiesta Mix — 7:29 # Rosabel's Tragic Dub — 8:08 # Rosabel's The Three Wish Dub — 7:15 # Rosabel's Tribe Dub — 7:57 # Rosabel's The More Tragic Dub — 8:15 # Rosabel's The Under Dub — 5:30 # Rosabel's Bonus Wish Mix — 4:06 # Rosabel's Percapella Beats — 5:45

Release history

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics with English translation
{{Gloria Estefan singles 1996 singles Gloria Estefan songs Songs in Spanish Songs written by Kike Santander 1995 songs Epic Records singles