''Contra la Corriente'' (''Against the Current'') is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

released by American singer

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

on October 21, 1997 by

RMM Records RMM Records, also known as RMM Records & Video Corp, was an independent Latin music record label established in 1987 and based in New York City. The label was most active during the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced primarily salsa, Latin j ...

. The album was produced by Puerto Rican musician Angel "Cucco" Peña, with most of the songs written by Panamanian composer Omar Alfanno. The album was well received by critics who praised the vocals of Anthony as well as the songs. The album produced six singles, four of which peaked on the top ten on the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Promoted by a sold-out concert in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

, ''Contra la Corriente'' became the first salsa album to reach number one on the

Top Latin Albums Top Latin Albums is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all ''Billboard'' album charts, the chart is based ...

chart and to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Contra la Corriente'' received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

and a

Latin Billboard Award The ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards grew out of the ''Billboard'' Music Awards program from ''Billboard'' magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The ''Billboard'' awards are the La ...

, and was named the eighth best album of 1997 by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine. It has sold over 400,000 copies as of 2000. The album received a

gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for shipping of 500,000 copies in the United States. This was the last album that Marc Anthony recorded under RMM Records before switching over to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

to record his first self-titled English album.

Background

Since Anthony's signing on with RMM, his first-two albums ('' Otra Nota'' and '' Todo a Su Tiempo'' had been successful, selling over 600,000 copies combined by 1996. His latter album, ''Todo a Su Tiempo'', was certified gold in the United States and received a Grammy Award nomination.

Sergio George Sergio George (born May 23, 1961) is an American pianist, arranger, and record producer, known for working with many famous performers of salsa music, although he has worked in other genres of the music industry as well. He has worked with some ...

, who produced Anthony's previous albums, was not involved in the production of ''Contra la Corriente'' as he had left RMM to establish his own record label. Angel "Cucco" Peña, who has worked with salsa veterans such as

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million ...

and

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is an American salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist and also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in the politics of New York City. Colón ...

, took up the position as producer for the album. ''Contra la Corriente'', the third studio album by Anthony, was released in October 1997. The album was distributed by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

and was promoted at a sold-out concert in

days before the release of the album.

Recording and production

For the album, Anthony built a studio near his home.''Contra la Corriente'' (CD liner notes). RMM Records & Video. October 1997. Around that time, he was involved in the production of

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's musical play '' The Capeman'' and had to record the album in three weeks. Anthony chose nine songs out of 1,300 samples. He sent tapes to co-producer Peña at the Altamar Music Studios in San Juan, Puerto Rico to get feedback. He made routine flights between New York and Puerto Rico to record the album hours and to rehearse for the play. Panamanian composer Omar Alfanno, who wrote three songs on the last album, had composed five songs for the album. Fernando Arias composed the

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

s "No Me Conoces" and "Suceden". "Si Te Vas" is a cover of the Pedro Fernández song. Manny Benito wrote the last track, "Un Mal Sueño".

Singles

"Y Hubo Alguien" (''And There Was Somebody'') was the lead single from the album. Released in the same month as the album, the single reached number-one on the

Hot Latin Tracks 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, ra ...

. It was his first number one single on the chart and the first single by a salsa musician to reach number one. "Me Voy a Regalar" (''I Am Going to Give'') followed later in the year. "Si Te Vas" (''If You Go'') was the third single from the album, released in 1998; it reached number-eight on Hot Latin Tracks. "Contra la Corriente" (''Against the Current'') and "No Me Conoces" (''You Do Not Know Me'') both reached number-two on Hot Latin Tracks., "No Sabes Como Duele" (''You Do Not Know How It Hurts'') was the last single to be released from the album in 1999 and reached number-eighteen on the Hot Latin Tracks. Three of the six singles, "Y Hubo Alguien", "Si Te Vas", and "Contra la Corriente", reached number-one on the

Latin Tropical Airplay The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was " Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, ra ...

charts. Two songs from the album were made into music videos. The first music video was the lead single "Y Hubo Alguien" which was filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The second music video was "No Me Conoces" which was directed by Benny Coral. Filming took place in

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

and featured Anthony's future wife

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

as the supporting actress.

Reception and legacy

''Contra la Corriente'' received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Marc Anthony's singing. Terry Jenkins of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 and praised Anthony's vocals as being "sexy" and "near-flawless" though he felt that it "doesn't quite match the dizzying heights of his breakthrough ''Todo a Su Tiempo''".

Achy Obejas Achy Obejas (born June 28, 1956) is a Cuban-American writer and translator focused on personal and national identity issues, living in Benicia, California. She frequently writes on her sexuality and nationality, and has received numerous awards fo ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' names ''Contra la Corriente'' as Anthony's best album and felt that the influence of

Cuban music The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...

was prominent "in the rhythms and harmonies" in comparison to Los Van Van. ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'' critic Tom Moon rated ''Contra la Corriente'' 3.5 out of 4 stars noting the R&B-influence sound on the salsa tracks and felt some of the tunes were "gratuitously showy". However Moon complimented Anthony's ability to ad-lib ""in a loose, refreshingly offhand way". The

Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper bra ...

Fernando Gonzalez gave the disc a B− rating felt it was "adequate rather than inspiring" as he found the arrangements had "few surprises". Ernesto Lechner of 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 ...

'', who was more critical of the album, gave it two-out-of-four stars criticizing the arrangements as "unbearably soapy" and called the album a "flawed masterpiece in the saccharine genre of salsa romantica." An editor for ''Billboard'' magazine felt the record would let Anthony "build on his towering reputation with another radio-appropriate package". ''Contra la Corriente'' was named the eighth best album of 1997 by ''

'' magazine stating that "...whether you habla espanol or not, Anthony's talent comes through, no translation needed". At the

41st Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most no ...

, ''Contra la Corriente'' was given a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance. Lechner later said the album was "poppish" and claimed it to "not measure up against most of the competing efforts in his category." ''

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 adverti ...

'' awarded the album "Tropical Album of the Year by a Male Artist", citing that the album became the highest selling salsa album when it charted the Billboard 200. It also received a nomination for a 10th Lo Nuestro Awards for " Tropical Album of the Year". The single "Y Hubo Alguien" received a Billboard Latin Music Award and a Lo Nuestro award for "Tropical Song of the Year". This would be the last time that Anthony worked with the RMM label. After disputes with Ralph Mercado over business practices, he left the record label and later signed on with

to record his first self titled English album.

Commercial performance

During the Madison Square Garden concert, RMM executive producer

Ralph Mercado Ralph Mercado Jr. (September 29, 1941 – March 10, 2009) was a promoter of Latin American music — Latin Jazz, Latin rock, merengue and salsa — who established a network of businesses that included promoting concerts, managing artists, Ri ...

presented an award to Anthony for selling over 350,000 copies just before release. ''Contra la Corriente'' was the released on October 21, 1997 in the United States. The album debuted at number-one on the

chart on the week of November 22, 1997, and stayed at number-one for three consecutive weeks. The album debuted at number-one on the

Tropical Albums Tropical Albums (formerly known as ''Tropical/Salsa'') is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, ...

chart and remained on top for ten non-consecutive weeks. ''Contra la Corriente'' was the first album Anthony to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number seventy-four. The album was the fourth best selling Latin album of 1998 and was the second best selling tropical album after ''

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the gr ...

''. The album was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

in the United States for shipping of 500,000 units. A

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed edition of the album was released on September 9, 2003 by

Universal Music Latino Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group, is a record company specialized in producing and distributing Latin music in Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. UMLE includes famous Latin music labels such as ...

. ''Contra la Corriente'' has sold over 400,000 units as of 2000.

Track listing

Personnel

The following credits are from

Performers

*Tito Allen – vocals, coro *William Amparo – vocals, coro *Luis Aquino – trumpet *Wichy Camacho – vocals, coro *Jose Gazmei – bass *Gilda Gonzalez – vocals, coro *Angel "Angie" Machado – trumpet *Fernando Muscolo – arranger, keyboards, programming *Moisés Nogueras – trombone *Miguel Rivera – trombone *Antonio Gomez Salcedo – string contractor *Ito Serrano – guitar *Charlie Sierra – percussion, bongos, timbales *William Thompson – conga *Maximo Torres – guitar, requinto *Raffi Torres – trombone *Yanira Torres – vocals, coro

Technical

*Ricky Gonzalez – arranger *Luis Berrios – engineer, assistant engineer, recording *Joe Caldas – engineer, mixing, recording *Juan G. "Pericles" Covas – engineer, recording *Pericles Covas – engineer, assistant engineer *Daniel Hastings – photography *Marta Ibarra – editing, editorial coordinator, publishing coordinator *Amaury Lopez – arranger *José Lugo – arranger *Damaris Mercado – producer, art direction, artistic director *Ralph Mercado – executive producer *Carlo Moralishvili – producer, artwork, art direction *Angel "Cucco" Peña – arranger, director, producer, musical director, musical direction, general director *Humberto Ramírez – arranger *Héctor Ivan Rosa – engineer, recording *Ronnie Torres – mixing engineer *Liliane Van Balberghe – graphic design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contra la Corriente (Marc Anthony Album) 1997 albums Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album Marc Anthony albums RMM Records albums Spanish-language albums