''México en la Piel'' (''Mexico in the Flesh'') is the sixteenth studio album by Mexican singer

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

. Released on 9 November 2004 by

Warner Music Latina Warner Music Latina (formerly WEA Latina) is a record label part of Warner Music Group that focuses on Latin music. The record label was established in 1987. List of artists currently on Warner Music Latina Alaya*Alex Ubago *Andres Calamaro *Bohe ...

, it is Miguel's first

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 ...

album. The record contains thirteen mariachi

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

s, accompanied by the

Vargas de Tecalitlán Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán is a Mexican Folk music, folk musical ensemble, ensemble of mariachi music founded in 1897 by Gaspar Vargas. Since 1950 it has been under the artistic guidance of Rubén Fuentes. The group's musical direction had b ...

folk ensemble.

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1935 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican Maya peoples, Mayan musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the ...

was its musical director, and Miguel its producer. The album was recorded at

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in July 2004. A special edition, ''México en la Piel: Edición Diamante'', was released on 5 September 2005 with two additional songs and a DVD with five

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 ...

s. Four singles were released from the album: "El Viajero", "Que Seas Feliz", "Sabes una Cosa", and "Échame a Mí la Culpa". "Mi Ciudad" was released as a single from the special edition. The album received mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

; some praised Miguel's delivery and Mariachi Vargas's music, and others found its arrangements too smooth. However, it received the

Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album The Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album was an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Mexican music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone A ...

and the

Latin Grammy Award for Best Ranchero Album The Latin Grammy Award for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album was an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording art ...

and reached number one in Argentina, Spain and on the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums chart in the United States. By 2006, the album had sold over two million copies. Miguel embarked on a two-year tour which grossed over $90 million, the highest-grossing tour by a

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 ...

artist.

Background and recording

Miguel released '' 33'', a pop album with original material, in 2003. It received unfavorable reviews from music critics (who found the album too similar to his previous pop recordings), and was commercially unsuccessful. On 4 August 2004, Miguel announced that he would release an album of

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

s in November. As to why he chose to record an album of mariachi covers, he said: "I did it with the intention of rescuing, to revive them for young people, songs that can not be forgotten", calling it a tribute to his roots. ''México en la Piel'' was recorded at Hollywood's

in July 2004. Miguel collaborated with

on the album and enlisted his longtime collaborator, Mexican singer-songwrtier

, to assist with its musical direction. Miguel produced the album himself.

Release

''México en la Piel'' was released on 9 November 2004 by

. The album has twelve

songs and a bonus track: "Sabes una Cosa". On 31 January 2005, Warner Music reissued the album with alternate back-cover artwork. Its back cover originally featured a sepia-tinted

Mexican flag The national flag of Mexico ( es, Bandera de México) is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolor of green, white, and red with Coat of arms of Mexico, the national coat of arms charge (heraldry), charged in the center of the white stripe. While t ...

, but the

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

asked the record label to remove it due to Mexican law which prohibits altering the flag's colors. The back cover was changed to a photo of a

charro Charro has several meanings, but it generally refers to Mexican horse riders, who maintain traditional dress, such as some form of sombrero, which in Mexican Spanish are called ''sombrero de charro'' (a charro's hat). The charros could also ...

on a horse. A special edition of the album, ''México en la Piel: Edición Diamante'', was released on 5 September 2005. It had two new tracks ("Por un Amor" and "Mi Ciudad") and a DVD with five music videos of Miguel's mariachi songs.

Promotion

To promote ''México en la Piel'', Miguel began a

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

on 13 September 2005 at the

Save Mart Center Save Mart Center at Fresno State is a multi-purpose arena, on the campus of California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), located in Fresno, California. An open house was held for the community on November 5, 2003, with the official ribbon ...

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. The singer toured the United States, Mexico, South America and Spain. The tour ended on 23 September 2007 at the

Hyundai Pavilion The Glen Helen Amphitheater (originally Blockbuster Pavilion and formerly Hyundai Pavilion and San Manuel Amphitheater) is a 65,000-capacity amphitheater located in the hills of Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. It is the l ...

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

. It grossed over $90 million from 124 performances and over 1.4 million spectators, the highest-grossing tour by a Latin artist. The tour's

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 ...

consisted of mariachi songs from ''México en la Piel'',

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 and uptempo tracks from Miguel's previous albums. He included songs from his holiday album, ''

Navidades ''Navidades'' () is the 17th studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 14 November 2006 by Warner Music Latina. It is Miguel's first Christmas album, in which the singer interprets traditional English-language carols in Spanish. The ...

'' (2006), for the tour's fourth leg.

Singles

"El Viajero", the album's first single, was released on 15 September 2004 to coincide with

Mexican Independence Day Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

. Its

was filmed in

Amatitán Amatitán is the head of a municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one o ...

, Jalisco and was directed by Pedro Torres. The second single from the album, "Que Seas Feliz", was released on 26 September 2004. The single peaked at number three on 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 ...

chart and number nine on the

Regional Mexican Songs Regional Mexican Airplay (also referred to as Regional Mexican Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994, with "La Niña Fresa" by Banda Zeta being the first number-one so ...

chart. Its video, also filmed in Amatitán and directed by Torres, co-stars Mexican actress

Yadhira Carrillo Yadhira Carrillo Villalobos (born May 12, 1973) is a Mexican actress, model and beauty queen. Early career Yadhira Carrillo was chosen Nuestra Belleza Aguascalientes Mexicana Universal Aguascalientes (until 2016 called Nuestra Belleza Aguasca ...

. "Que Seas Feliz" is the main theme for the Mexican

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

, ''

Apuesta por un amor Apuesta (English means ''Wager'') may refer to: *"Apuesta", song and EP by Cirse (band) *" La Apuesta" (The Bet) song by Thalía * La apuesta (film) (The Bet) 1968 Costa Rican film directed by Miguel Salaguero {{dab ...

'' (2004). "Sabes una Cosa" was released as the album's third single on 22 January 2005 and peaked at numbers eight and nine on the Hot Latin Songs and Regional Mexican Songs charts, respectively. The album's fourth single, "Échame a Mí la Culpa", reached number 18 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. "De Qué Manera Te Olvido" was released as a

promo single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

in Spain. "Mi Ciudad" was released on 29 August 2005 as a single promoting the special edition of ''México en la Piel''.

Critical reception and accolades

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Alex Henderson gave ''México en la Piel'' four out of five stars, praising Miguel for recording a mariachi album. Henderson also praised Mariachi Vargas's involvement, and called the album "among iguel'smost essential releases." ''Billboard'' editor

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 ...

also gave the album a positive review, saying that Miguel's vocal delivery is "infused with a ''gusto'' and genuine enthusiasm" and calling the tracks "stylized and radio-friendly." Laura Emerick of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' gave it two out of four stars, writing that Miguel performs with his "trademark full-bore style" and Manzanero's arrangements were "strictly retro", with "glossy" orchestration. ''

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 ...

'' critic Augustin Gurza also gave the album two out of four stars, writing that the tracks were "dressed up by busy orchestral arrangements that replace country grittiness with urbane pretensions." According to Gurza, Mariachi Vargas couldn't "muster much mariachi spirit" and the record seemed "soulless." Mario Tarradell of ''

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 ...

'' called it Miguel's "best disc in years", noting that the album "showcases the Mexican vocalist challenging himself with a batch of passionate songs". At the

6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday, November 3, 2005. It was the first ceremony to be broadcast by Univision in the United States. Ivan Lins was the big winner, winning two awards, inc ...

in 2005, ''México en la Piel'' was the Best Ranchero Album. At the 13th Annual ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards that year, it was the Best Regional Mexican Album by a Male Solo Artist. The album was the Best Mexican/Mexican-Album at the

2006 Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''México en la Piel'' debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums chart on the week of 27 November 2004 and spent five weeks at number one. The album ended 2005 as the seventh-bestselling Latin album in the country, and was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

quadruple platinum in the Latin field by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for shipping 400,000 copies. It peaked at number 37 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and topped the

Regional Mexican Albums Regional Mexican Albums is a genre-specific record chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart was established in June 1985 and originally listed the top twenty-five best-selling albums of mariachi, tejano, no ...

charts. In Mexico, the album topped the

Top 100 Mexico Top 100 México is a record chart which accounts for sixty percent of the albums sold in Mexico. The chart has the support of major record distributors in Mexico and is issued by the Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A. ...

chart and was 2005's third-bestselling record. It was certified triple platinum and diamond by the

Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) (English: Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C.) is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in M ...

for shipping 800,000 copies. ''México en la Piel'' topped the Argentine album chart, and was certified double platinum by the

Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers ( es, Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas, CAPIF) is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a ...

for shipping 80,000 copies. It also reached number one in Spain, and was certified platinum for shipping 100,000 units. The album was certified platinum in Chile and Colombia, and double platinum in Venezuela. By 2011, ''México en la Piel'' had sold over two million copies.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the ''México en la Piel'' liner notes:

Performance credits

Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán 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 ...

*José "Pepe" Martínez – director, 1st

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

*José Martínez Pérez – violin, copyist *Fernando Martínez Arreguín – violin *Steeven Sandoval – violin *Alberto Alfaro – violin *Gustavo Alvarado –

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 ...

*Federico Torres – trumpet *Enrique Santiago – guitarron *Víctor Cárdenas –

vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...

*Juan Pedro Vargas –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Julio Martínez – arpa *Xavier Serrano – trumpet *Juan Rodríguez – violin *Martin Alfaro – violin *Felipe Pérez – violin *Julio Hernández – violin Additional musicians *Robert L. Becker –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

*Darrin McCann – viola *Larry Corbett –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

*Daniel W. Smith – cello *Phillip Ayling –

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

*Kim Hutchcroft – flute *Richard Todd –

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

*Brad Warnaar – french horn *Daniel Greco –

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

*Tommy Morgan –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Ramón Stagnaro Ramón Stagnaro (May 10, 1954 – February 16, 2022) was a Peruvian guitarist and producer who had a career of 40 years, and who had toured or recorded with many great artists such as Alex Acuña, Eva Ayllon, Diana Ross, Gino Vannelli, Celine Di ...

–

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, ...

Luis Conte Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Chorus *Paulina Aguirre *Juan Del Castillo *Bambi (Natisse) Jones *Carlos Murguía *

Daniel Navarro Daniel Navarro García (born 18 July 1983) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Navarro was born in Salamanca. Having been one of Alberto Contador's domestiques for most of his career, he ...

*Kenny O'Brien *Gisa Vatcky *Tata Vega

Technical credits

*Luis Miguel – producer *Alejandro Asensi – executive producer *Francisco Loyo – musical co-producer *

Rafa Sardina Rafael Sardina, known professionally as Rafa Sardina, is a basque recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer known for his work with Alejandro Sanz, Luis Miguel, Calle 13, D'Angelo, The Clare Fischer Big Band and Lady Gaga. Sard ...

– engineer, mixer *David Reitzas – mixer *Shari Sutcliffe – production coordination *Armando Manzanero – pre-production *Diego Manzanero – pre-production *Andrew McPherson – photography *Kerry Koontz – additional photography *Jeremy Woodhouse – additional photography *Jeri Heiden –

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

*Glen Nakasako – graphic design *Joanne Jaworowski – graphic design *Salo Loyo – digital editing engineer *Michael Eleopoulos – recording assistant *Jeff Burns – recording assistant *Alan Mason – mixing assistant *Kevin Szymanski – mixing assistant *Nicholas Marshall – mixing assistant *Ron McMaster – mastering engineer *José "Pepe" Martínez – arrangements *Cutberto Pérez – arrangements

Recording, mixing and mastering locations

* Ocean Way Recording Studios,

, CA – recording *

Record Plant Studios The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

, Hollywood, CA – recording * Chalice Studios, Hollywood, CA – mixing * Capitol Mastering, Hollywood, CA – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexico en la Piel (album) 2004 albums 2005 video albums Albums produced by Luis Miguel Luis Miguel albums Covers albums Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album Latin Grammy Award for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album Ranchera albums Spanish-language albums Warner Music Latina albums