Vida Loca () is the first studio album by Cuban singer-songwriter Francisco Céspedes, released in August 1997 by WEA Latina. In Spain the album was awarded with an for the best Latin album. It was nominated for Pop Album of the Year by a New Artist at the 1999 Billboard Latin Music Awards, but lost to Carlos Ponce. By June 2000, the record had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.
History In August 1997 Céspedes released his debut album, and the first single "Se me Antoja". The album languished selling no more than 10,000 copies by year's end. The things changed when network TV Azteca held a contest to find the title track for a new soap, . Céspedes submitted a song written specifically for that purpose, and out of hundreds, it got picked. "Señora," the song, became the title track of Señora, the soap, and it was added as a bonus track to Vida Loca in the second edition, the single sold 10,000 copies in Mexico. By year's end, the album had sold 180,000 copies in Mexico alone, and Cespedes was on his way to becoming an international star.
After seeing Céspedes perform in Mexico City, Alejandro Sanz persuaded Warner Music Spain president Saul Tagarro to promote Céspedes' CD "Vida Loca" in Spain. By mid-December 1998, "Vida Loca" had sold 350,000 units, and was eventually awarded with five platinum certifications by PROMUSICAE for shipping over 500,000 copies. In addition, Cespedes, won one Premio Ondas and three , including one for the best Latin album.
Track listing
Personnel Adapted from the Vida Loca liner notes:
Performance credits
Waldo Madera – drums, percussion Agustin Bernal – double bass Raúl del Sol – acoustic piano , chorus Eugenio Toussaint – acoustic piano Jorge Aragón – acoustic piano Fernando Otero – piano Dean Parks – steel acoustic guitar Freddy Ramos – nylon acoustic guitar Gil Gutiérrez – guitar Chilo Morán – trumpet Fernando Acosta – saxophone Yomo Toro – cuatro Alcira Herrera – chorus Maryori González – chorus Elizabeth Meza – chorus Pancho – chorus Aneiro – chorus Silantiva Vera – strings Jorge Deletze – strings Bozena Slawinska – strings Matthew Paul Schubring – strings Viktoria Horti – strings Naomi Eve Brickman – strings Abraham Mayer – strings Vladimir Tokarev – strings
Technical credits
Juan Carlos Paz y Puente – executive producer, direction A&R Aneiro Taño – co-producer, arrangements Salvador Tercero – engineer, mixing engineer Raúl Durand – assistant Jean B. Smit – mixing engineer Andy Richter – assistant Leon Zervos – mastering engineer Ron McMaster – mastering engineer Eugenio Toussaint – arrangements Manolo González Loyola – arrangements Mark Kamins – direction A&R Edgar Ladrón de Guevara – photography Jessica Fallon – graphic design Lidia Salazar – coordination in Mexico Laura Cárdenas – coordination in Mexico Maricela Valencia – coordination in Mexico Nina Swan – coordination in Los Angeles Freddy Ramos – coordination in Los Angeles Raúl Ortega Alfonso – exergues
Recording and mixing locations
Estudio 19, Mexico City – recording Westlake Recording Studios – Studio A, Los Angeles, CA – mixing Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, CA – mixing Absolute Audio – mastering Capitol Mastering, Los Angeles, CA – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for Vida LocaChart (1998)PeakpositionEuropean Albums (Music & Media)57Spanish Albums (AFYVE)3
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for Vida LocaChart (1998)PeakpositionSpanish Albums (AFYVE)10
Chart (1999)PeakpositionSpanish Albums (AFYVE)30
Sales and certifications
References