Fotos y Recuerdos

While flying back from New York, A.B. Quintanilla—the brother-producer of Selena—heard the Pretenders' 1983 single "Back on the Chain Gang" on the radio.[1] At the time, A.B. was having a nervous breakdown after realizing he was running out of material to record for Selena's fourth studio album, Amor Prohibido (1994).[1] He likened the idea of reworking "Back on the Chain Gang" into a Spanish-language cumbia song.[1] Keyboardist of the group, Ricky Vela wrote the Spanish lyrics into a cumbia-style that A.B. envisioned for the recording.[1] The Amor Prohibido album was pressed for a release date of March 13, 1994, and was halted for distribution due to the copyrighting issues with "Fotos y Recuerdos".[1] Vela retold in a 2002 interview how he was awaken by Selena and A.B. because they did not have the clearance for "Fotos y Recuerdos".[1] Singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde's music producers reported the song to Hynde who did not allow Selena to continue with "Fotos y Recuerdos" until she received an English-language writing of the song.[1] It was only after Vela re-wrote the song into English that Hynde gave Selena the clearance for the recording.[1] Musicologist James Perone, noticed how the song was the shortest track off of Amor Prohibido.[2] He further wrote how Vela "stripped some of the edge off of Hynde's text but retained the basic premise of ["Back on the Chain Gang"]"[2] Perone found A.B.'s arrangement to be "an example of [his] universal Latin approach".[2]

"Fotos y Recuerdos" is a mid-tempo cumbia and rock song with influences of dance pop and house music.[3][4][5][6] Cary Darling of The Buffalo News noticed the mixture of house and ranchera music in "Fotos y Recuerdos".[7] Author and contributor to The New York Times, Joe Nick Patoski found the song to use the same melody of the Pretenders' new wave sound.[8] Author Lori Beth Rodriguez, also found similarities between the Pretenders' mainstream sound and "Fotos y Recuerdos" but noticed how the song enchoed a cumbia undertone with "lyrics [that] are similar in theme, yet different from those in the original English version."[9] The song features a synth-driven violin, ostinatish-percussion, and a steel drum under a cumbia beat.[9][10][2] Perone found the song to have "small hints" of music found in Jamaica, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago.[2] BuzzFeed contributor Brian Galindo, called the song "upbeat and dancy".[11] Written in the key of D minor, the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 90 beats per minute.[12] Rebecca Thatcher of the Austin American-Statesman, found the lyrical content of "Fotos y Recuerdos" to be a "lilting ode to a lost love".[13] Lyrically, the song describes a lonely female protagonist who "kisses the photo of her [lover] each night before falling asleep."[14]

"Fotos y Recuerdos" garnered acclaim from music critics, some of whom called it an improvement over the Pretenders' original version,[13][15][16][17] and called it one of Selena's most well-known recordings.[17][18] According to author Pat Bar-Harrison, it was one of Selena's most successful United States singles.[19] Writing for the San Antonio Express-News, Ramiro Burr called "Fotos y Recuerdos" an "interesting cover".[20] The York Dispatch believed the song "outshines" all other tracks on the Amor Prohibido album.[21] Author Ed Morales believed the song "has a lot of personality".[22] Don McLeese of the Austin American-Statesman wrote how the song became a popular radio song in South Texas and believed it to be one of her signature songs.[23] Musicologist Frank Hoffman, called it a "hard-edge rock" song.[3] The Monitor editor Jon LaFollette, wrote differently; calling the song a "simultaneous effort to celebrate multiculturalism" in a way to "grow her bank account".[24] Nonetheless, he listed the song as part of his "key tracks" for the Amor Prohibido album.[24] Zach Quintance, also from The Monitor, wrote how readers of the newspaper chose Selena's 1994 single "No Me Queda Más" and "Fotos y Recuerdos"; citing that "fans loved the feeling and musicianship in those two songs."[25] Federico Martinez of La Prensa, called the song an "enduring hit".[26] Since its release, the song has been included on many music critics "best of Selena songs" list including the BuzzFeed (at number six),[11] and Latina (at number eleven).[27] In 2016, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine included the song at number 47 in the list for the "50 Best Songs of the Nineties".[28]

"Fotos y Recuerdos" was released in the week of January 28, 1995,[29] serving as the fourth single released from Amor Prohibido. The track debuted on the U.S. Hot Latin Songs chart at number 29 on February 4, 1995.[29] In its second week, the song jumped to number 12, receiving airpower honors.[30] As a result, it subsequently debuted on the U.S. Regional Mexican Airplay chart at number ten.[30] "Fotos y Recuerdos" rose to number two on the Hot Latin Songs and Regional Mexican Airplay charts, trailing Grupo Bronco's "Que No Me Olvide" by 557 Nielsen points on February 18, 1995.[31] In the following week, "Fotos y Recuerdos" remained at number two on the Hot Latin Songs chart, while the single fell to number four on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart.[32] In its fifth week, the song reclaimed the second position on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, while remaining at number two for a third consecutive week on the Hot Latin Songs chart.[33] Staying at number two for its fourth consecutive week on the Hot Latin Songs chart, "Fotos y Recuerdos" fell to number three on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart.[34] The song fell to number three on the Hot Latin Songs chart, while it remained at number three on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart on March 18, 1995.[35]

Selena was shot and killed by Yolanda Saldívar, her friend and former manager of the singer's Selena Etc. clothing boutiques, on March 31, 1995.[36] At the time of her death, "Fotos y Recuerdos" was positioned at number four on the Hot Latin Songs chart.[37] In the week following the singer's death, "Fotos y Recuerdos" peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs (her fourth consecutive) and Regional Mexican Airplay chart, her second consecutive.[38] According to disc jockeys, "Fotos y Recuerdos" was the most requested song in South Texas throughout April of that year.[39] In its second week atop the Hot Latin Songs and Regional Mexican Airplay charts, "Fotos y Recuerdos" debuted at number twelve on the U.S. Latin Pop Airplay chart.[40] After two consecutive weeks at number one, "Fotos y Recuerdos" was dethroned on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart by La Mafia's "Toma Mi Amor".[41] After spending seven consecutive weeks atop the Hot Latin Songs chart, "Fotos y Recuerdos" was displaced by Mexican group Los Bukis' single "Te Amo Mamá".[42] "Fotos y Recuerdos" ended 1995 as the second most successful Latin single.[43] Billboard magazine began monitoring digital downloads of Latin songs beginning with the week ending January 23, 2010.[44] "Fotos y Recuerdos" made its debut on the Latin Pop Digital Songs chart following the twentieth anniversary of the singer's death; positioned at number 19.[45] Over at the Regional Mexican Digital Songs chart, the song debuted and peaked at number 14.[46]

Dominican salsa singer José Alberto "El Canario" covered the song for the tribute album Familia RMM Recordando a Selena (1996).[47] Mexican mariachi group Banda El Grullo recorded the track for their album 30 Números 1 en Banda.[48] His version peaked at #15 on the Tropical Songs chart.[49] Mexican group Liberación recorded the song for the tribute album Mexico Recuerda a Selena (2005).[50] Mexican singer Gerardo Williams covered the song for his album Nuevas Voces de América.[51] Mexican pop singer Paulina Rubio performed and recorded "Fotos y Recuerdos" for the live televised tribute concert Selena ¡VIVE! in April 2005.[52][53] Michael Clark of the Houston Chronicle wrote that Rubio used her "sex appeal" while performing the song.[54] Ramiro Burr of the San Antonio Express-News called Rubio's version a "techno/hip-hop number".[55] Rubio performed "Fotos y Recuerdos" once more during her tour in Texas that same year.[56][57]

Credits adapted from Amor Prohibido liner notes.[1]

• Selena – vocals
• Joe Ojeda – electronic keyboard
• Ricky Vela – writer, keyboards
• Chris Pérez – electric guitar
• Suzette Quintanilla – drums
• A.B. Quintanilla III – bass guitar, producer
• Pete Astudillo – tambourine
• Eliza Howardson - violin
• Lisette Lorenzo – art direction

• Latin music in the United States
• Billboard Top Latin Songs Year-End Chart
• List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1995