La Isla Bonita
"La Isla Bonita" (Spanish for "The Beautiful Island") is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album True Blue (1986). Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch created it as an instrumental demo and offered it to singer Michael Jackson, who turned it down. When Leonard met Madonna to start working on True Blue, he played the demo for her. Madonna came up with the title, wrote the lyrics and produced the song with Leonard. It's her first song with Latin influences. Its instrumentation features flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish. The lyrics talk about an island named San Pedro, whose location has been debated. Madonna said the song was her tribute to Latin Americans.
For the island nicknamed "La isla bonita", see La Palma. For the album by Deerhoof, see La Isla Bonita (album)."La Isla Bonita"
February 25, 1987
4:03
Upon its release as the fifth and final single from True Blue on February 25, 1987, "La Isla Bonita" was positively received by music critics, who cited it as a highlight in the album. It was commercially successful, becoming her eleventh top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and second Adult Contemporary number one. It topped the charts in Canada and several countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom―where it became Madonna's fourth number one―France, West Germany, and Austria. In the accompanying music video, Madonna portrays two opposite characters: a young Catholic woman, and a flamenco dancer. The clip received mixed reviews from authors and contemporary critics: some saw the use of Hispanic imagery as a successful marketing strategy, while others accused the singer of cultural appropriation.
"La Isla Bonita" has been included on eight of Madonna's concert tours and covered by multiple artists, including Ricky Martin and Alizée. It has also been referred to as one of Madonna's best songs, and features on her compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"La Isla Bonita" was written and produced by Madonna and Leonard, with additional lyrics by Gaitsch.[16] Personnel working on the song included Leonard on keyboard arrangement and programming, Gaitsch on guitars, and Paulinho da Costa as percussionist; background vocals were performed by Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehmann.[16] The song has been described as a "Latino-pop dance ballad", while its sound has been compared to Bossa nova.[17][18] According to author Mary Cross, "La Isla Bonita" marked a departure in Madonna's sound, as it combines flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, electronic sounds, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish.[1][19][9] To get the correct translations, Leonard and Madonna talked over the phone with a Hispanic housekeeper.[20] According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., "La Isla Bonita" is set in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. The song is set in the key of C♯ minor (F♯ minor[21] for the bridge), with Madonna's voice spanning between G3 to C5 .[22]
Lyrically, "La Isla Bonita" talks about a "humble observer, captured by the rhythm of an imagined island" named San Pedro, with mentions of "tropical breeze" and "nature wild and free".[5][18][23] The song starts with an introduction performed on bongos, before descending into castanets.[24] Madonna then utters the phrase ¿Cómo puede ser verdad? ("How can it be true?").[9] In one line, Madonna specifically sings, Last night I dreamt of San Pedro/Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song.[18] The geographic location of said place has been debated, with Cuba, Belize, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic being cited as possibilities.[25] Certain authors have speculated that San Pedro Town in Ambergris Caye, Belize, is the actual place mentioned on the song.[26][27][23] On its official website, the island's Victoria House Resort & Spa posted that the town has been nicknamed "La Isla Bonita" because of the song.[25]
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna admitted to not knowing where San Pedro was: "I don't know [where San Pedro is]. At that point, I wasn't a person who went on holidays to beautiful islands. I may have been on the way to the studio and seen an exit ramp for San Pedro".[28] Authors Eduardo Viñuela, Igor Paskual and Lara González, noted that although the song features characteristic elements of Spanish music, such as flamenco guitar, its lyrics make mention of Brazilian music genre samba. The authors held that this "complicates" the location of the island, thereby making it a fictitious "utopic" place rather than an actual one.[29] Similarly, Daniel Garrán from Spanish radio station Los 40 argued that the lyrics are a "tribute to the Latin community from New York [Madonna] has always been close to", and do not talk about a real place.[27]
Commercial performance[edit]
On March 21, 1987, "La Isla Bonita" debuted at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Madonna's eleventh consecutive single to be named the week's top new entry –a streak that began with "Lucky Star" (1984)– and one of the most added songs on radio stations.[55] By April 25, the song became Madonna's twelfth consecutive top ten hit, a record shared with Michael Jackson.[56] "La Isla Bonita" was the fifth top ten single from True Blue, making it the second album by a female artist to score five top tens, the other being Janet Jackson's Control (1986).[56] On May 2, the song reached its peak at number 4, becoming Madonna's eleventh single to reach the chart's first five spots, a feat surpassed at the time only by the Beatles and Elvis Presley.[57][58]
On the Adult Contemporary chart, the single debuted at number 31 on the week of April 4, peaking at number one more than a month later.[59][60] It was Madonna's second Adult Contemporary chart-topper after "Live to Tell".[60] "La Isla Bonita" also reached number one on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.[61] Billboard reported that 75,000 copies of the 12-inch single had been sold by July 1987.[62] "La Isla Bonita" came in at number 58 on Billboard's Hot 100 year-end chart for 1987, and at 34 of the Adult Contemporary year-end chart.[63][64] In Canada, the single debuted in the 58th position of RPM's Top Singles chart on the week of April 4.[65] After ten weeks on the chart, it reached the top position on June 6, 1987.[66] "La Isla Bonita" placed at number 22 on the RPM Year-end chart for 1987.[67]
In the United Kingdom, "La Isla Bonita" debuted at the fifth position of the singles chart on 4 April; it reached the first position three weeks later on 25 April, spending two weeks at number one and eleven on the chart overall.[68] It was Madonna's fourth number one in the country.[69] The single was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 250,000 copies.[70] According to Music Week magazine, 421,760 copies had been sold in the United Kingdom as of 2008.[71] "La Isla Bonita" was Madonna's first number one song in France, where it spent three weeks at the top spot in July 1987, and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipment of 500,000 copies.[72][73] It remains one of Madonna's highest-selling singles in the country, with reported sales exceeding 620,000 units.[74] The song was successful across Europe as well, topping the charts in Switzerland, West Germany, and Austria.[75][76][77] "La Isla Bonita" also topped the European Hot 100 Singles chart the week of June 20, 1987.[78] It reached the top five in Ireland,[79] Norway,[80] the Netherlands,[81][82] and Sweden,[83] and the top ten in Spain.[84]