Macarena

Fourteen years ago today, something great happened to mankind! Anyone who was alive during the mid 90s will be familiar with the Macarena. After it was released it went on to become the best selling debut single of all time and the band was ranked #1 as the all time greatest one hit wonders by VH1. But it was also the biggest dance craze to come along since The Robot. Askmen.com has it ranked as the #4 Dance Craze ever.

But the Macarena was more than just a hugely successful single or a dance that everyone was doing. It was a cultural phenomenon.



It was played in clubs, ball parks, at fairs, and on the radio. People talked about it on talk shows. 50,000 people once did it at Yankee Stadium. Jackie Chan did it during the credits to one of his movies. Vice president Al Gore even did it at the Democratic National Convention. Well, he did his version of the dance, remaining completely still while the song was played.

The song is by Los Del Rio and is about a woman by the same name or women from the La Macarena neighborhood in Seville, Spain. It was originally recorded in 1992 and released the following year. But it found success after being remixed by the Bayside Boys and having English lyrics added.

Aaron's thoughts: I was one of the many, many detractors of the Macarena during it's heyday. I couldn't stand the song and thought the dance was stupid. But, I was really young during it's heyday, and I could definitely be described as a wallflower back then. Maybe my hatred came from not having the courage and the confidence to get off that wall and do the Macarena with all of my peers. Maybe I hated it because it shined so bright and in my shyness I wanted to avoid the light.

Then again, maybe I just thought it was stupid. I don't know. But what I do know is that 13 years later, I have finally learned the importance of the Macarena.

One night this summer, I went into my church's youth room to see a big group of people doing the Cupid Shuffle. It looked like they were having fun, so I decided to join in. After that song ended, the Macarena came on. I looked at the guy next to me and told him I never learned that as I was leaving the dance floor. But he gave me a quick look of disbelief and told me today was the day I would learn. So I learned it, did the dance, and had a blast! It was a very big moment for me. And it only came about thirteen years too late!

Daniel's thoughts: The Macarena was a phenomenon! I haven't done this dance in a decade but I still know how to do it! I just Youtubed the video and I can't help but smile nostalgically at the catchy beat, silly lyrics, and HORRIBLE singing! However, I'm not too proud to admit that I did the heck out of the Macarena when it was popular!

It was a point of pride if you could do it faster than anyone else! No one was too good to do the Macarena either, in fact it was during those moments of coordinated, hip-gyrating dancing that all men were truly equal. In fact, I found a photo of an American soldier teaching an Iraqi soldier this dance. Brilliant!

The bottom line: Even though the Macarena has been dead for well over a decade, it's still around. People still remember what it was and how the dance goes. It will most likely be one of those dances like the Electric Slide, the Twist, and the Cha Cha Slide that everyone on the dance floor knows how to do.

So the Macarena is like the bones of the dinosaurs or Egyptian Pharaohs, it's dead but it's not going anywhere anytime soon. And if you don't get why, then I guess you had to be there.