"Al otro lado del río" () is a song, written and performed by

Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

singer

Jorge Drexler Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician, actor and doctor specializing in otolaryngology. In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award, which he won for compos ...

for the film '' The Motorcycle Diaries'' (2004).Soundtrack of ''The Motorcycle Diaries''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Besides the film's soundtrack, it can also be found in Drexler's seventh album ''Eco''; on the soundtrack, the bassist Jeff Eckels also performed.

Credits and personnel

* Written and Performed by

* Produced by Jorge Drexler and

Leo Sidran Leo Sidran is an American Grammy-nominated musician, composer, performer, and producer whose credits include co-producing the Oscar-winning song "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" for the soundtrack to the movie '' The Motorcycle Diaries''. Sidran began ...

* Guitar, Programming and Vocals: Jorge Drexler * Bass: Jeff Eckels * Cello: Carina Voly * Violin: John Vriesacker * Background Vocals: Ana Laan * Percussion, Programming, Piano: Leo Sidran * Piano:

Ben Sidran Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer and ...

* Recorded and Mixed by

Mark Haines Mark Haines (April 19, 1946 – May 24, 2011) was a host on the CNBC television network. Early life and education Haines grew up in Oyster Bay, New York, and resided in Monmouth County, New Jersey. His ''alma mater'' was Denison Univers ...

Smart Studios Smart Studios was a recording studio located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands. The studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, and Nirvana. After in ...

Madison, WI Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-large ...

* Additional Recording by Hector Coulon at UML Studios

Academy Award

"Al otro lado del río" received the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

at the

77th Academy Awards The 77th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During ...

,Article at oscars.org
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becoming the first song in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, the second in a foreign language, to receive such an honor, and the first by a

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an artist. The Oscars ceremony producers would not let the then relatively unknown Drexler perform the song during the show for fear of losing ratings. Instead, the song was performed by the more well known

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

and

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...

, who were introduced by

Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...

. Drexler's acceptance speech for the award consisted of him singing a few lines of his song ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'', and closed by simply saying Chau! ().

Awards and nominations

*Won: Academy Award for Best Original Song *Nominated:

Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence, creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the Uni ...

References

External links

*
Lyrics (in original Spanish) and English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al Otro Lado Del Rio 2004 songs Jorge Drexler songs Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs Spanish-language songs Songs written by Jorge Drexler Latin pop songs