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Dicen Que Soy
A close-up of a woman's head facing right with her eyes closed.
Studio album by
La India
ReleasedSeptember 20, 1994 (1994-09-20)
Recorded1994
GenreSalsa, tropical
Length44:52
LanguageSpanish
LabelRMM
ProducerSergio George
La India chronology
Llego la India Via Eddie Palmieri
(1992) 		Dicen Que Soy
(1994) 		Jazzin'
(1996)
Singles from Dicen Que Soy
  1. "Nunca Voy a Olvidarte"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Ese Hombre"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Que Ganas de No Verte Más"
    Released: 1995
  4. "Dicen Que Soy"
    Released: 1995
  5. "O Ella o Yo"
    Released: 1995

Dicen Que Soy (They Say That I Am) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican recording artist La India released on September 20, 1994, by RMM Records. The album was produced by American musician Sergio George, who chose the songs for India to record with an emphasis on feminism to suit with her voice. The production mixes salsa music with other rhythms such as funk and timba. Five singles were released from the record with "Nunca Voy a Olvidarte" and "Ese Hombre" topping the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.

Dicen Que Soy was well received by music critics for the arrangement and selection of songs for the album. The success of the record led to India receiving a Billboard Latin Music Award and a Lo Nuestro nomination. In the United States, it peaked at number four and one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Tropical Albums charts respectively, and has sold over 140,000 copies as of 2000.

Background

Following the release of her debut studio album, Breaking Night (1989), La India went on to produce When the Night is Over (1991), a collaboration between her then-husband Little Louie Vega and Marc Anthony. Both albums were recorded at the time when freestyle music's popularity was beginning to wane, and neither was a commercial success.[1] India and Vega left Atlantic Records, as India wanted to pursue her singing career performing in Spanish.[2] Three years later, American musician Eddie Palmieri, who had heard her singing on the radio, wrote and produced India's first Spanish-language record titled Llegó la India, via Eddie Palmieri (1992).[3] Although it was a commercial success,[4] her high-pitched vocals were criticized.[5]

Subsequently, India was signed to Ralph Mercado's record label RMM. Her first recording under the label was a cover of Basilio's song "Vivir lo Nuestro", a duet with Anthony for the RMM compilation album Combinacion Perfecta (1993).[6] It was released as a single where it peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.[1][7] The record was produced by American musician Sergio George who picked the song for the duo as he felt it was the right track for them to perform, despite the pair not being close friends at the time. George said he took the recording as a "personal challenge" because he believed India's voice was "extraordinary".[5]

Recording and musical characteristics

Since house music at the time was her forte, I had her sing house style vocal riffs over the salsa tracks, even over where horn lines would normally go. Instead of hearing a horn "mambo" as usual, I gave you India doing her thing, which gave her an identity and sound that no one else had.

Sergio George, Descarga.com.[5]

For Dicen Que Soy, George picked songs that had been previously recorded by female Latin singers such as Rocío Jurado and Lupita D'Alessio, with a focus on feminist lyrics. George, India, and Shirley Marte also wrote love songs ("Dejate Amar" and "No Me Conviene") for the album and added India's cover of George Benson's song "I Just Want to Hang Around You" as a counterbalance, in case the feminist songs did not prove popular.[5] When describing the production, India said that "This is me, my flavor in a tropical way, and showing what I can do with my voice."[8] The theme of the title track's lyrics revolves the singer being criticized by gossips without caring about their opinions.[9] Puerto Rican singer Tito Nieves is featured on the song "No Me Conviene" and "Vivir lo Nuestro" was included as a bonus track for the album.[10] Musically, the production mixes romantic and hard salsa music along with funk and timba.[3] The record took four months to complete.[5]

Singles

La India "Ese Hombre"
A 28 second sample of the track, "Ese Hombre", one of the songs that La India covers in the album.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Nunca Voy a Olvidarte" was the first single to be released from the album. It peaked at number 11 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number one on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.[11][12] The second single, "Ese Hombre", reached number 12 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and became her second number-one song on the Tropical Songs chart.[11][12] "Que Ganas de No Verte Más" peaked at number 24 on the Hot Latin Songs and number two on the Tropical Songs charts.[11][12] "Dicen Que Soy" and "O Ella o Yo" reached number five and seven respectively on the Tropical Songs chart.[12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Latinafavorable[14]

Even without a formal review, an editor for the website AllMusic gave Dicen Que Soy four stars out of five.[13] An editor for Latina magazine wrote a positive review for the album calling her cover of "Nunca Voy a Olvidarte" "sensational" and "Vivir lo Nuestro" an "explosive live recording".[14] India's recordings of "Ese Hombre" and "Dicen Que Soy" have been noted to be "anthems for female salsa lovers".[15]

At the 6th Lo Nuestro Awards ceremony in 1995, Dicen Que Soy received a nomination for "Tropical Album of the Year",[16] but lost to Siente el Amor... by Olga Tañón.[17] In the same year, the album won the award for "Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year by a Female Artist" at the second annual Billboard Latin Music Awards.[18] In the United States, it peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and number one on the Tropical Albums chart.[19][20] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Dicen Que Soy has sold over 144,000 copies as of 2000.A

Track listing

All music is composed by Sergio George

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nunca Voy a Olvidarte"Roberto Belester4:57
2."Que Ganas de No Verte Mas"Alejandro Venazzi4:49
3."Ese Hombre"
  • Manuel Alejandro
  • Ana Magdalena
4:40
4."Dicen Que Soy"
  • Guadalupe "Lupillo" Garcia
  • Sergio George
4:41
5."O Ella O Yo"Juan Carlos Calderón5:04
6."Dejate Amar"
  • George
  • India
  • Shirley Marte
5:04
7."I Just Want to Hang Around You"
5:01
8."No Me Conviene" (featuring Tito Nieves)
  • George
  • India
  • Marte
4:47
9."Vivir Lo Nuestro [Bonus track]" (with Marc Anthony)Rudy Pérez6:06

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Personnel

The following credits are from AllMusic and the Dicen Que Soy CD liner notes.[10][22]

See also

Note

A.^ According to the Recording Industry Association of America, sales for many salsa albums went unreported because venues selling the discs did not report to monitoring services.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason. "India — Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  2. ^ "Nuyorican Soul Sista". Vibe. 8 (2). Spin Media: 141. March 2000. ISSN 1070-4701.
  3. ^ a b Candelaria, Cordelia; Garcia, Peter; Adalma, Arturo (October 30, 2004). Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture. Vol. 2. Westport, United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 413. ISBN 9780313322150. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
  4. ^ Steward, Sue (October 1, 1999). Musica!: The Rhythm of Latin America – Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, and More. Chronicle Books. p. 71. ISBN 9780811825665. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e Child, John (September 18, 2007). "Interview: Sergio George". Descarga.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  6. ^ Lechner, Ernesto (October 17, 1994). "POP MUSIC REVIEW : 'Combinacion': Salsa's Dream Team : Some of the Best of the Genre Show Up for Live Presentation of Album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  7. ^ "Marc Anthony — Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  8. ^ Oumano, Elena (August 14, 1994). "She's S-s-s-smokin'! : India burned up the Latin charts, with her '93 debut, 'Llego La India.' Her new 'Dicen Que Soy . . . ' goes beyond the hot dance-club sound and dips deeper into her Caribbean salsa roots". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  9. ^ Delgado, Celeste Fraser; Muñoz, José Esteban (June 18, 1997). Everynight Life: Culture and Dance in Latin/o America. Duke University Press. p. 234. ISBN 9780822319191. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Dicen Que Soy (album). La India. DLG Studios in New Jersey: RMM Records & Video. 1994. CDZ-81373.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ a b c "India — Chart history: Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d "India — Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Dicen Que Soy — India: Overview". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Dicen Que Soy (1994)". Latina. 11. Latina Media Ventures: 128. 2007.
  15. ^ Manuel, Peter; Bilby, Kenneth; Largey, Michael (August 10, 1995). Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae. Temple University Press. p. 110. ISBN 9781592134649. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  16. ^ "Vives, Lo Nuestro". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Casa Editorial El Tiempo S.A. April 21, 1995. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  17. ^ "Lo Nuestro – Historia". Univision (in Spanish). Univision Communications. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  18. ^ Lannert, John (June 10, 1995). "Award-Winners Show Diversity of Latin Music". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 23. Prometheus Global Media. p. 54. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  19. ^ a b "India Chart History (Top Latin Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  20. ^ a b "La India Album & Songs Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "1995: The Year in Music". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1995-12-23. p. YE-68.
  22. ^ "Dicen Que Soy — India: Credits". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  23. ^ Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa (April 9, 2000). "Commanding Respect". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
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