"El Triste" ("''The Sad One''") is a song written by Mexican composer Roberto Cantoral. It was performed for the first time on March 15, 1970, at the "Latin Song Festival II" (predecessor of the

OTI Festival OTI Festival ( es, Festival OTI de la Canción, pt, Festival OTI da Canção), often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) ...

) by the Mexican singer

José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer and actor. Born into a family of musicians, José began his musical career in his early teens playing guitar and sin ...

. () ''El Triste'' was included on his third studio album.

General information

The song talks about a person who is empowered to live by a longing for a loved one, which could refer either to the loss of a lover or spouse, a relative or friend—the song does not specify which exactly. The composition turned out to be very attractive both in lyrics and in its music, it catches the attention of the listener from start to finish, due to the rhetoric of the lyrics and its unique melody. "El Triste" is sung by José José in a considerably high register, highlighting the power of his voice and his extensive management of respiration. He has said it is one of the most significant interpretations that he has performed due to its technical difficulty and the impact that the song caused.

Cultural impact

The song and its interpretation was such a hit, that the audience at the festival demanded that José José had won it, but in the end, even with the impact that his performance caused, he got third place. Although "El Triste" did not win the festival it meant the consolidation of José José as a talented singer of international fame, since then it was the song that closed most of his presentations. The song became his second number-one single in the Mexican charts in 1970 (replacing his other song "La nave del olvido"). "El Triste" became a cultural icon in Mexico, as part of the repertoire of favorite songs of

Mexican pop Mexican pop is a music genre produced in Mexico, particularly intended for teenagers and young adults. Mexico is the country that exports the most entertainment in Spanish language. Mexican pop was limited to Latin America until the mid-1990s, w ...

ular music. After its release at the festival it was immediately recorded in studio along with other new tracks on an LP released in 1970. José José recorded the song again in 1982 under new accompaniment and musical arrangement, and in 1998 in a duet with pianist

Raúl di Blasio Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

. Some of the performers who have made their version of the song include:

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Manuel Mijares Manuel Mijares () (born José Manuel Mijares Morán, 7 February 1958 in Mexico City) is an adult-contemporary pop singer who is billed simply as "Mijares". He began his career at age 23 and achieved high popularity from the mid-80s to mid 90s in ...

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Eddie Santiago Eddie Santiago (born Eduardo Santiago Rodríguez, August 18, 1955) is a salsa singer from Puerto Rico. Early years At a young age, Santiago demonstrated great love for salsa music. He performed with several groups, including Generación 2000, ...

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has p ...

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Lucho Gatica Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...

Charlie Masso Carlos Javier Rivera Masso (born June 13, 1969 in San Juan, Puerto Rico), better known as Charlie Masso, is a Puerto Rican singer and actor. Masso is a former member of Menudo, joining the band at the height of Menudo's worldwide fame. He rep ...

, Julieta Venegas,

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, Cristian Castro, Il Volo, Jorge Valente and Marc Anthony among others. Eddie Santiago's cover of the song peaked at No. 28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart. Notable live cover performances include David Bisbal during the

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

tribute to José José in 2008, Cristian Castro at the

Latin Grammy Awards of 2011 The 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards was held on Thursday, November 10, 2011, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and was hosted by Lucero and Cristián de la Fuente. The eligibility period for recordings to be nominated is July 1, 20 ...

, and Il Volo at the

2013 Latin Billboard Music Awards The 2013 ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards were held on April 25, 2013. Awards Hot Latin Songs Latin Artist of the Year Jenni Rivera *Don Omar *Prince Royce *Romeo Santos Latin New Artist of the Year 3Ball MTY *Juan Magan *Jesus Ojeda y Sus Pari ...

after José José received the ''Billboards Lifetime Achievement Award for his fifty-year career.

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Triste, El 1970 songs 1970 singles José José songs Cristian Castro songs Marc Anthony songs Spanish-language songs Il Volo songs Number-one singles in Mexico Songs written by Roberto Cantoral RCA Records singles

General information

Cultural impact

Certifications

See also

References