"Ciega, Sordomuda" () is a song by Colombian singer

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

from her fourth studio album, ''

Dónde Están los Ladrones? ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' ( en, Where Are the Thieves?, italic=yes) is the fourth studio album by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira, released on 29 September 1998 by Columbia Records and Sony Music Latin. After attaining success in La ...

'' (1998). A

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

track, it utilizes

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

trumpets and lyrically equates total love to a person being blind, deaf, and mute. It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on 4 September 1998 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and

Sony Discos Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with ...

. The lyrics were written by Shakira. Its music was co-composed by Shakira and

Estéfano Fabio Alonso Salgado, better known as Estéfano (born 19 August 1966 in Manizales, Colombia) is a Colombian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Along with Donato Poveda formed the duo Donato y Estefano, releasing three studio albums ...

, while produced by the singer and

Lester Méndez Lester Mendez is a multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning record producer, songwriter and composer. His production/writing credits include a multitude of successful hits with Shakira, Jewel (singer), Jewel, Nelly Furtado, Jessica Simpson, Enrique I ...

. "Ciega Sordomuda" received positive reactions from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s, who praised the instruments used and compared it to Shakira's breakout hit "

Estoy Aquí "Estoy Aquí" () is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, taken from her third studio album ''Pies Descalzos'' (1995). It was released in 1995 by Sony Music and Columbia Records as the lead single from the album. The song was written ...

". The song was nominated in the category of Pop Song of the Year at the 1999 Lo Nuestro Awards and was a recipient of a

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...

(BMI) Latin Award in 2000. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was filmed in Miami, Florida and directed by

Gustavo Garzón Gustavo Garzón (born May 25, 1955 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine film and television actor. He works in the cinema of Argentina.Freiburg,_Germany_ file:Juanes_ZMF_2015_jm49211.jpg.html" ;"title="Germany">Freiburg,_ Freiburg,_Germany_">Germany ...

. The film depicts Shakira and her partner being chased by cyber police after escaping jail. The song was included in the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for the

Tour Anfibio Tour Anfibio ( es, Amphibious Tour, links=no) is second concert tour by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira support of her fourth studio album ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' (2000). that started on March 21, 2000, in Lima, and ended on Ma ...

Tour of the Mongoose Tour of the Mongoose (also known as El Tour de la Mangosta in hispanophone countries) is the third concert tour by Colombian singer and songwriter, Shakira, in support of her fifth studio album and first English album, ''Laundry Service'' (2001) ...

, the

Oral Fixation Tour Oral Fixation Tour (known as Tour Fijación Oral in hispanophone countries) was the fourth concert tour by Colombian singer and songwriter, Shakira. It was launched in support of her sixth and seventh studio albums ''Fijación Oral, Vol. 1'' (200 ...

, and

The Sun Comes Out World Tour The Sun Comes Out World Tour (also known as the Sale el Sol World Tour) was the fifth concert tour by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira, launched in support of her eighth and ninth studio albums, ''She Wolf'' (2009) and ''Sale El Sol'' (2 ...

. Shakira also performed an acoustic version of the song for her first live album, ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' (2000). Commercially, the track topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, rad ...

and

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established b ...

charts in the United States; it also became a number-one hit in Costa Rica, Panama and her native Colombia; and reached the top-ten in five other countries.

Background and composition

After rising to prominence with the success of her major-label debut album ''

Pies Descalzos ''Pies Descalzos'' ( en, Bare Feet, italic=yes) is the third studio album and international debut by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira, released on 6 October 1995, by Sony Music and Columbia Records. Its music incorporates Latin pop styles, ...

'' (1995), Shakira was introduced to

Emilio Estefan Emilio Estefan Gómez (born March 4, 1953) is a Cuban Americans, Cuban-born American musician and producer. Estefan has won 19 Grammy Awards. He first came to prominence as a member of the Miami Sound Machine. He is the husband of singer Gloria ...

, the most important producer in the Hispanic market at the time, by her promoter and longtime friend, Jairo Martínez. Estefan was renowned for launching the careers of several Hispanic singers, including

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havin ...

, and his wife

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

. He decided to work with Shakira as he identified her potential to break into the US

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

market, though one of Shakira's concerns about working with Estefan was creative control over her music. Before signing their contract, the roles and duties were finalized: Estefan would be her manager and executive producer, but she would be in charge of all material and arrangements and have final approval over her records. She later stated about Estefan, "He had a great respect for me as an artist and trusted me totally on this project." Since then, they started working on Estefan's Crescent Moon Studios in Miami. She insisted on perfection, working on the material to the point of exhaustion. "I made two or three demos of each song. I became a human being so demanding of myself that until the song made my hair stand on end, I wouldn't stop". Equipment for the recording of ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' included old

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

s to achieve a better sound, a 40-year-old German microphone, and several innovations in the instrumental mixes. ''Dónde Están los Ladrones?'' took nine months to produce, more than Shakira's previous records since more people were involved on this album. Shakira commented, "To me it's a normal time, the gestation period for a baby. But many people wag their finger and tell me that the next one cannot take so long..." Shakira was involved with the compositions for all the tracks in the album, including "Ciega, Sordomuda", which she co-wrote with Colombian musician

, with productions being handled by the singer and

. Musically, "Ciega, Sordomuda" is a

song that equates "total love to being blind, deaf, and mute" and incorporates

trumpets at various points. Lyrically, Shakira describes herself as "brute, blind, deaf, dumb, clumsy, fretful, stubborn" to a love who has her "haggard, skinny, ugly, disheveled, clumsy, dumb, slow, foolish, unhinged, completely out of control".

Reception

John Lannert of ''

'' noted that the track "strongly resembles" to her breakout hit, "

" (1995). ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' critic Mario Tarradell regarded "Ciega, Sordomuda" as "an obvious first single" with its "jittery pop-rock feel" and also made a comparison to "Estoy Aquí". Mark Kemp, writing for the book ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', felt that the artist "pays tribute to her Latin roots in the Spanish guitars and trumpets". The ''

Latin Beat Magazine The ''Latin Beat Magazine'' is a publication dedicated to all styles of Latin music, edited and published by Rudolph (Rudy) and Yvette Mangual. The first issue was launched on January 1, 1991. It is currently headquartered at Gardena, California, ...

'' editor Franz Reynold called the song a "mid-tempo rocker dedicated to the horrors of emotional co-dependency-with mariachi-style brass flitting in and out of the spare vocal and the airy strum of guitars." Ramiro Burr of the ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

'' found it to be one of the album's "catchy tunes", while a writer for ''

The Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'' found the track to be "especially addictive". On the review of the album for ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', Richard Torres observed the "cry of individuality" in the song. "Ciega, Sordomuda" was nominated in the category of Pop Song of the Year at the 11th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards in 1999, but ultimately lost to "

La Copa de la Vida "The Cup of Life" (Spanish: "La Copa de la Vida") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his fourth studio album, '' Vuelve'' (1998). Martin created the song after FIFA requested of him an anthem. The song was written by Lui ...

" by

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

. It was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2000 BMI Latin Awards. "Ciega, Sordomuda" ranked number 89 on ''Billboard''s "The 98 Greatest Songs of 1998", with

Leila Cobo Leila Cobo is a Colombian journalist, writer, novelist, pianist and television show host. She is noted for her coverage of Latin music for ''Billboard'' where she is currently the Chief Content Officer for Latin Music and Español, overseeing the ...

noting that the song "broke completely with everything popular Latina musicians had been doing up to that point". It was listed among Shakira's 26 Best Songs by HipLatina. In the US, "Ciega Sordomuda" debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard''

chart on the week of 24 October 1998. It reached the summit a month later later, spending three weeks at this spot. The song also topped the

chart and peaked at number seven in Spain. In November 1999, it was labeled as one of the "hottest tracks" for Sony Discos in a list including the most successful songs released by the label since the launching of the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart in 1986.

Promotion and live performances

"Ciega, Sordomuda" was released to radio stations worldwide as the album's

on 4 September 1998. It was later included on her

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album '' Grandes Éxitos'' (2002). The

for the song was directed by

and filmed in Miami. The film depicts Shakira being jailed and escaping with her partner. They are then chased by several policemen, who are revealed to be robots at the end. Various scenes include the couple driving blindfolded and Shakira performing with guests dancing in the background. The video was nominated in the category of Video of the Year at the 1999 Lo Nuestro Awards, but ultimately lost to "

Esperanza Esperanza is the Spanish word for hope, and may refer to: Places Philippines * Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, a municipality * Esperanza, Masbate, a municipality * Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, a municipality United States * Esperanza, Mississippi, ...

" by

. "Ciega, Sordomuda" was included on the

for the following tours:

(2000),

(2002–03), the

(2006–07), and

(2010–11), The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' writer Ernesto Lechner noted Shakira's "disjointed robotic movements" while she performed the track at the

Arrowhead Pond The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction, i ...

in 2000. For The Sun Comes Tour, a Stroh violin was used to replace the

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

s of the original recording. David Hardwick from Spinning Platters said the use of the instrument was "impressive". She also sung the track during the 11th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards and Miss Colombia 1999. In August 1999, Shakira sang an acoustic version of "Ciega, Sordomuda" during an episode of ''

'' in New York City as a mariachi tune, where she was accompanied by El Mariachi Los Mora Arriaga. The performance was included on her first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

'' (2000). As part of

The Latin Recording Academy The Latin Recording Academy ( es, Academia Latina de la Grabación; pt, Academia Latina da Gravação), formally known as the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, is a multinational membership-based association composed of Latin music, Lat ...

tribute to Shakira, who was presented with the Person of the Year accolade in 2011, Mexican singer Alejandro Guzmán and Spanish musician

Natalia Jiménez Natalia Altea Jiménez Sarmento (born 29 December 1981), known professionally as Natalia Jiménez is a Spanish singer-songwriter that started her musical career in the 2000s as vocalist of La Quinta Estación. Her first disc as a soloist was tit ...

performed "Ciega, Sordomuda" as a duet.

Formats and track listings

Promotional single # "Ciega, Sordomuda"4:28

Pablo Flores Pablo Flores is a Puerto Rican DJ, record producer, remixer and arranger. Remixes for Gloria Estefan * " Abriendo Puertas" * " Bad Boy" * "Bailando!'" (Special edition Megamix) * " Betcha Say That" * "Cherchez La Femme" * "Como Me Duele Perder ...

remixes single # "Ciega, Sordomuda" (album version)3:52 # "Ciega, Sordomuda" (12" full mix)10:51 # "Ciega, Sordomuda" (12" single edit)4:36 # "Ciega, Sordomuda" (dub mix)8:01 # "Ciega, Sordomuda" (radio edit)4:37

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Ciega, Sordomuda". *Marcelo Acevedo

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

*Tommy Anthony

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

*Julio Hernández

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Sebastian Krys Sebastian Krys (born November 11, 1970) is an Argentine-born American audio engineer, record producer and radio personality. A six-time Grammy and 13-time Latin Grammy winner, Krys has worked with many Spanish language pop and rock artists such as ...

mixing *

Lester Mendez Lester Mendez is a multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning record producer, songwriter and composer. His production/writing credits include a multitude of successful hits with Shakira, Jewel, Nelly Furtado, Jessica Simpson, Enrique Iglesias, and ot ...

producer,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

*Shakirasongwriting, producer, lead vocals *Claudio Speiwakacoustic guitar *Nicolás Tovarbacking vocalist *Teddy Mulet

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Adam Zimmon

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

Charts

Covers

The song was covered by Croatian singer

Vesna Pisarović Vesna Pisarović (born 9 April 1978) is a Croatian pop and jazz singer. Life and career 1978–1999: Early life Pisarović was born in Brčko (city), Brčko, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia and grew up in Požega, Croatia, Požega, SR ...

under the title "Da je meni (oko moje)". This version served as the second single from Pisarović's sophomore album ''Za tebe stvorena''.

References

{{Shakira singles 1998 singles 1998 songs Spanish-language songs Shakira songs Songs written by Shakira Songs written by Estéfano Pop rock songs Columbia Records singles Sony Discos singles