La Camisa Negra

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"La Camisa Negra"
Single by Juanes
from the album Mi Sangre
Released	2005
Format	CD single, Maxi single
Recorded	2004
Genre	Latin pop
Length	3:36
Label	Universal
Writer(s)	Juanes
Producer(s)	Juanes, Gustavo Santaolalla
Certification	Gold (Switzerland)
Chart positions
#1 (Argentina, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela) #2 (Netherlands) #3 (Belgium) #7 (Finland) #32 (UK) #89 (U.S.)
Juanes singles chronology
"Volverte a Ver" (2004)	"La Camisa Negra" (2005)	"Para Tu Amor" (2005)
"La Paga" (2004)	"La Camisa Negra" (2005/2006)	"A Dios le Pido" (re-release) (2006)

"La Camisa Negra" (English: "The Black Shirt") is a rock en español song written by Colombian singer-songwriter Juanes for his third studio album Mi Sangre. In Latin America, the track was released in 2005 as the third single from Mi Sangre, and in Europe, it was released in 2006 as the album's lead single.

The song received mixed reviews from critics and generated controversy when it was used to support neo-fascism in Italy. The single was very successful in Latin America, topping most record charts.

Contents 1 Music and structure 2 Critical reception 3 Controversy 4 Chart performance 5 Music video 6 Formats and track listings 7 Charts 8 References

[edit] Music and structure

"La Camisa Negra" is written in common time in the key of C major.^[2] The song is carried by an acoustic guitar strum at a moderate 100 beats per minute, with an accompanying melody on the electric guitar.^[2] The lyrics are organized in the common verse-chorus form,^[3] and Juanes' range spans around an octave and a half, from C#₄ to F#₅.^[2]

[edit] Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from critics. ContactMusic stated that the track "is a good intro into the world of Juanes as it fully exhibits his guitar style and absorbing voice."^[4] MyVillage gave the song two out of five stars, commenting that it "has a certain charm about it, but I certainly won't mind missing the boat on this occasion."^[5] IndieLondon called the song "a supremely slick acoustic ballad", stating that "the rolling guitar licks…provide a wonderful accompaniment."^[6] OMH gave the song a mixed review, stating that "the powerful chorus has a rather catchy vocal melody to it" but that "it's like being promised a culinary banquet only to be served a few chicken nuggets."^[7]

[edit] Controversy

The song was used in Italy in support of neo-fascism because of the association of "black shirt" with the Fascist Blackshirts of Benito Mussolini,^[8] and many nightclub attendees from the far right raised an arm in the fascist salute when the song was played.^[9] In response, left-wing media network Indymedia called for a boycott of the song.^[9] Juanes later stated that "'La Camisa Negra' has got nothing to do with fascism or Mussolini...People can interpret music in all kinds of ways I guess."^[10] The song was also banned in the Dominican Republic for its sexual undertones.^[11]

[edit] Chart performance

The song was very successful in Latin America, topping the singles charts in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela.^[12] In the United States, the song did not perform well in mainstream music, only reaching number eighty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100.^[13] It performed much better on the Latin charts, topping the Hot Latin Tracks for eight non-consecutive weeks,^[14] topping the Latin Pop Airplay, and reaching number two on the Latin Tropical Airplay.^[13] Billboard listed the song at number two on the 2005 year-end Hot Latin Songs chart, behind fellow Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira's "La Tortura".^[15] The song performed well in Europe, topping the charts in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland and reaching the top twenty in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway.^[12][16] The single was certified gold in Switzerland^[17] and is the best-performing single in the country's history.^[18]

[edit] Music video

A music video for the song was released in 2005. In the video, Juanes arrives in a town, accompanied by two women and an older man. The man and women exit the car, and the man begins playing a guitar while the two dance. A wave comes out of the guitar, and aside from Juanes, everyone through whom the wave passes is frozen in time, performing the same motion repeatedly. During the last chorus, the wave reverses direction, and the people of the town disappear.

[edit] Formats and track listings

12" maxi single (House Remixes)

1. "La Camisa Negra" [Main Mix]
2. "La Camisa Negra" [Duro Mix]
3. "La Camisa Negra" [T.U.&G! Remix]

CD single #1

1. "La Camisa Negra" [Album Version] - 3:36
2. "La Camisa Negra" [Remix por Toy Hernández] - 4:36

CD single #2

1. "La Camisa Negra" [Album Version] - 3:36
2. "La Camisa Negra" [Sonidero Nacional Remix] - 3:36

Maxi single (July 24, 2005)

1. "La Camisa Negra" [Album Version] - 3:36
2. "La Camisa Negra" [Sonidero Nacional Remix] - 3:36
3. "Fotografía" [feat. Nelly Furtado] - 3:58
4. "La Camisa Negra" [Video] [Bonus]
5. An Introduction to Juanes [Bonus]

[edit] Charts

Chart (2005)[12][13][16] Peak position Argentine Singles Chart 1 Austrian Singles Chart 1 Chilean Singles Chart 1 Colombian Singles Chart 1 Costa Rican Singles Chart 1 French Singles Chart 1 German Singles Chart 1 Italian Singles Chart 1 Mexican Singles Chart 1 Panamanian Singles Chart 1 Spanish Singles Chart 1 Swiss Singles Chart 1 United World Chart 20 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 89

Chart (2005) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks 1 U.S. Billboard Latin Pop Airplay 1 U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay 2 Venezuelan Singles Chart 1 Chart (2006) Peak position Belgian Singles Chart 3 Dutch Top 40 2 Finnish Singles Chart 7 Irish Singles Chart 13 Norwegian Singles Chart 9 Swedish Singles Chart 27 UK Singles Chart 32

[edit] References