I’ll just come right out and say it. Many times, I don’t like a popular craze.
Standing on the outside of something is more my style. I like to give a thing room and see if it has legs or not. I can think of many examples throughout my life. From menu items at McDonald’s, like the McFlurry, or Pumpkin Spice Latte, to things like those awful leg warmers or oversized sunglasses.
Somebody, somewhere, says, “Hey, this is cool. Be cool like me.” And then the lemmings dive right in and follow.
Okay, okay. Maybe you like how the McFlurry tastes. But how good can a McDonald’s menu item be? In all fairness, I’ve never tasted one. Perhaps they are better than Christmas morning.
I bring this up because on this date, August 3, 1996, “The Macarena” began its reign at the top of the United States Pop Charts. Yes. The Macarena.
It came about first in Florida. It started out as a Spanish rumba. But then a couple of Miami record producers got a hold of it. Soon, it shifted into the “Macarena.” It hit #1 on this day and stayed in that spot for a long time.
Interestingly enough, the group that gets credit for the song was Los Del Rio. They spent more time on the Billboard Hot 100 than any other group in history — a total of 60 weeks. Los Del Rio was the name on the outside. But underneath were two middle-aged Spaniards named Antonia Romero and Rafael Ruiz. The duo had been performing together since 1962.
The original recording of “Macarena” was a hit in Latin America. It also had a small following here in America. But then? A DJ named “Jammin John Caride” at Miami’s Power 96-FM added the song to his rotation. His station managers gave Jammin John the big stinky. They told him their policy was not to play songs sung exclusively in Spanish.
So they tweaked it. Two producers came in and wrote and recorded English-language verses for the female voice of Macarena. They then did a bit of a remix to make it more dance club-friendly. Within days, their “new” Macarena was a hit beyond hits.
I have never danced the Macarena. Nor will I ever. I’m not a Line Dancer, an Electric Slide Dancer, or a Gangnam Style Dancer. It’s not in me. I have never tried the Moon Walk because I know better. I have a strict code of ethics when it comes to being on the dance floor.
1. Group dancing is for groups, and I am not a group.
2. Keep it all “right here.”
Not even the Hokey Pokey.
This code of ethics has served me well.
And. That’s what it’s all about.
===========
Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.
— Jack Kerouac
===========
Fads are born to die.
— Ken Hakuta
============
All human societies go through fads in which they temporarily either adopt practices of little use or else abandon practices of considerable use.
— Jared Diamond
===========
Macarena. What? What? What?
