Vida (Ricardo Arjona song)

"Vida"
Single by Ricardo Arjona
from the album Poquita Ropa
Released7 December 2010
Recorded2010
GenreLatin pop
Length5:15 (Album Version)
LabelWarner Latina
Songwriter(s)Ricardo Arjona
Producer(s)Ricardo Arjona, Dan Warner
Ricardo Arjona singles chronology
"Puente"
(2010) 		"Vida"
(2010) 		"Marta"
(2011)

"Vida" is a latin pop song by Guatemalan recording artist Ricardo Arjona, released on 7 December 2010 as the second single from his twelfth studio album, Poquita Ropa (2010). The song was written by Arjona, who produced it with longtime collaborators Dan Warner and Lee Levin under their stage name Los Gringos. The song is considered to be an autobiographical song for the singer, and its lyrics are based on "matters of identity".

An accompanying music video for "Vida" was released in November 2010. It was directed by Joaquín Cambré and filmed in Mexico, and "represent[s] that mix of feelings crafting an ambience of hope inside of a story that inevitably has a tragic end." The video was used as part of the feature film Poquita Ropa — Una Historia Apasionada as well as on Arjona's Metamorfosis World Tour. As of 28 July 2012, the video has reached 3.9 million views on YouTube.

Background

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In Poquita Ropa Arjona tried to use as few instruments as possible.

With Poquita Ropa, Arjona wanted to drastically change his musical style. He tried to use as few instruments as possible, resulting in a production that sounds like a capella performances. Arjona said about the album, "music and women look better with little clothes",[1] and that "they [the songs] are like women; they get things up and are so concerned about this that they forget that the less clothes, more beauty. The songs are often overwhelmed by ourselves, because we saturate them with arrangements looking to exalt their qualities and we end up hiding them."[1]

Arjona produced the album with the assistance of Dan Warner, who has worked with Shakira, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera.[2] Jason Birchmeier from Allmusic commented that Poquita Ropa "finds Arjona at his most naked, backed by spare arrangements of acoustic guitar, piano, and Hammond B-3 along with occasional touches of strings, woodwinds, and chorus vocals."[3] Poquita Ropa was the first album that Arjona recorded without producer Tommy Torres, whose last production was 5to Piso (2008). The album is similar in style to Arjona's work on Galería Caribe (2000).[3]

Composition

[edit]
"Vida" (2010)
A 23-second sample of "Vida", showcasing the final chorus after the two main verses, as well as the background vocals by Roger Silvestre Ramírez and Wendy Pedersen.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Vida" is a latin pop song written by Arjona, who produced it alongside longtime collaborators Dan Warner and Lee Levin, under their stagename Los Gringos.[4] Doug Emery provided the piano, while Lee Levin performed the percussion and drums instruments and Briang Lang the bass.[4] Roger Silvestre Ramírez and Wendy Pedersen provided additional background vocals on the song, while Andrés Saavedra and Isaías García served as the recording engineers.[4] It is considered by Arjona as an autobiographical song, commenting that it "contains a good dose of the life of my old mand", as a reference to his father, who died in 2011.[5] In an interview, music video director Joaquín Cambre commented that "'Vida' is a sweet song, exciting and bitter nonetheless."[6] Jason Birchmeier from Allmusic praised the song, stating that it "deal[s] with matters of identity and take a long view, concerning themselves with the past as well as the present and raising questions about the future."[3]

Promotion

[edit]

Music video

[edit]
"Vida" was used on Arjona's Metamorfosis World Tour as an introductory video for the show, showcased on an LDC screen present during the concert.[7]

The music video for "Vida" was released on 15 November 2010.[8] It was filmed in Mexico and directed by Argentinian filmmaker Joaquín Cambre.[5] In an interview, Joaquín Cambre commented that he "tried to represent that mix of feelings crafting an ambience of hope inside of a story that inevitably has a tragic end. Ricardo Arjona plays the song while listening to the story playing on an old disc."[6] On the video, Arjona is seen on an old room, playing guitar and sitting on a couch, close to a bed, while singing the lyrics. In between, scenes showing a family reaching to a house, in which the father of the men is laying, close to death.[9] As of 28 July 2012, the video has reached 3.9 million views on YouTube.[9]

Live performances and media appearances

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"Vida" was included on the film Poquita Ropa – Una Historia Apasionada, a compilation of the music videos for all of the songs on the album which premiered in February 2011 by HBO.[10] It was directed by Joaquín Cambre,[11] and co-starred Arjona, González, Edgar Vivar, Daniel Arenas, Mimi Morales, and Kenny.[12] Jesús Grovas, HBO's corporate communication manager for Mexico and Central America said that it was "a pleasure to have on screen the music of a songwriter like Ricardo Arjona, which is warranty of quality".[10] The film was also broadcast by A&E.[13] The song is also present on his ongoing Metamorfosis World Tour, where it is used as an introductory video for the show, showcased on an LDC screen present during the concert.[7]

Trackslisting

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  • Digital Download
  1. "Vida" — 5:15

Credits and personnel

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The credits are taken from the iTunes exclusive digital booklet.[4]

Release history

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Digital releases
Country Date Format Label
Worldwide[14] 9 November 2010 Mainstream radio Warner Music
United States[15][16] 7 December 2010 Digital download
United Kingdom[17]
Spain[18]
Germany[19]
Italy[20]
Portugal[21]
Brazil[22]
Mexico[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Arjona desnuda sus canciones en "Poquita ropa" Archived 2012-12-20 at archive.today (in Spanish). Union Radio. Retrieved on 23 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Ricardo Arjona tiende hoy su Puente" Archived 2013-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. La Nación. Retrieved on 28 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Birchmeier, Jason. "Poquita Ropa > Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Poquita Ropa (Digital booklet). Ricardo Arjona. Warner Music Mexico: a division of the Warner Music Group. 2010. 825646802180.
  5. ^ a b "Arjona triunfa con "Vida", su nuevo sencillo" Archived January 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Prensa Libre. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Arjona: "Vida es un tema autobiográfico y con una enorme dosis de la vida de mi viejo"". Pronto. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  7. ^ a b Trapé, Oscar. "Ricardo Arjona convocó a más de 25.000 personas en el Malvinas Argentinas" Archived 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Diario Uno. Retrieved on 26 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Ricardo Arjona estrenará el lunes su nuevo sencillo “Vida”"[permanent dead link]. RCN Radio. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Ricardo Arjona — Vida (Video Oficial)". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Ricardo Arjona en cortometraje" Archived February 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Diario CoLatino (Sociedad Cooperativa de Empleados de Diario Latino de R.L.). Retrieved on 11 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Protagoniza "Poquita ropa" la nueva película de HBO". Noticias24 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Arjona y Edith González comparten escenario" (in Spanish). Notisistema. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Ricardo Arjona y Edith González estrenan video clip" Archived 2011-04-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish). Terra Mexico. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Recuerda Ricardo Arjona a su padre en tema autobiográfico". El Universal (Venezuela). Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  15. ^ "Vida – Single by Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes (United States). Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  16. ^ "Vida – Ricardo Arjona". Amazon (United States). Retrieved on April 19, 2012.
  17. ^ "Vida – Single by Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (UK). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  18. ^ "Vida – Single de Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (ES). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  19. ^ "Vida – Single von Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (Germany). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  20. ^ "Vida – Single di Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (Italy). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  21. ^ "Vida – Single by Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (Portugal). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  22. ^ "Vida – Single de Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (Brazil). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Vida – Single de Ricardo Arjona" Archived June 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. iTunes Store (Mexico). Apple Inc. Retrieved on 19 April 2012.
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