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Mi PC

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"Mi PC"
Vector art of a computer with an eye and right hand. Program applications are shown on the top right.
Single by Juan Luis Guerra & 4-40
from the album Ni Es lo Mismo Ni Es Igual
ReleasedNovember 1998 (1998-11)
Genre
Length3:16
LabelKaren
Songwriter(s)Juan Luis Guerra
Producer(s)Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra & 4-40 singles chronology
"El Beso de la Ciguatera"
(1995) 		"Mi PC"
(1998) 		"Palomita Blanca"
(1998)

"Mi PC" (transl. "My PC") is a song by Dominican Republic singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra and his band 4-40 from his eighth studio album, Ni Es lo Mismo Ni Es Igual (1998). The song was released as the lead single from the album in November 1998 by Karen Records. The song was written and produced by Guerra. It is a pop merengue track in which Guerra uses computer terminology to narrate a love story. "Mi PC" was met with positive reactions from music critics who found the lyrics to be clever and its music catchy.

Commercially, it topped both the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States. Guerra performed the track live at the Altos de Chavón amphitheater in the Dominican Republic in 1999 and the 2000 Viña del Mar Festival in Chile. The song was a recipient of a Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Latin Award in 2001.

Background and composition

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In 1994, Juan Luis Guerra released his seventh studio album, Fogaraté, a record consisting of soukous-influenced merengue and merengue típico.[1] Following its release, he took a three-year hiatus from recording, citing the need to take a break. "If artists lack something, it is peace. I needed to rest to find it and I found it in the figure of Jesus Christ. I called him through prayer and received his answer", Guerra states.[2] During the singer's hiatus, Guerra launched his own business as a director in the Dominican Republic for Mango TV and Viva FM station.[2] On 29 October 1997, an editor for La Opinión reported that the artist had started working on a new album in Miami. "I'm making a decent album, that people like. I know the wait has been a bit long, but I'm almost sure that when the public has my new production in their hands, they will better understand why I've lasted that long without recording."[3] On February the following year, the singer gave an update on the progress, stating the disc would have 10 to 12 tracks including merengues, bachata, ballads, and a salsa, and that would be released in middle of the year.[4]

However, in June 1998, Guerra was not satisfied with the material he recorded and decided to further record.[5] Five months later, Bienvenido Rodríguez, president of Guerra's label, Karen Records, revealed that the singer had wrapped up the album's productions and that it would still contain the aforementioned musical genres.[6] The record's name, Ni Es Lo Mismo, Ni Es Igual, was announced on 14 November 1998, and released on 15 December of the same year.[7][8] Guerra wrote and produced all the tracks in the album including the opening song "Mi PC".[7][9] "Mi PC" is a pop merengue song in which Guerra "harmonizes the modern language of computers with the language of feelings."[8][9] Lyrically, the singer utilizes the "jargon of computers and cybernetics to narrate a beautiful love story."[10] According to Guerra, he had to learn about computer terminologies from his nephews.[2]

Reception and promotion

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"Mi PC" was released as the lead single from Ni Es lo Mismo Ni Es Igual by Karen Records in November 1998.[8] AllMusic reviewer Evan C. Gutierrez found it to be one of the album's "humorous and rollicking merengues".[7] Billboard's John Lannert described it as a "cute, chart-topping pop/merengue hit".[9] Cary Darling of the Orange County Register regarded the track to be a "likable merengue fluff" with an "ode to the modern computer age".[11] The Hispanic magazine contributor Mark Holston lauded "Mi PC" as a "merengue elevated above its dance track pretensions by coy lyrics based on computer-dominated contemporary life."[12] Ramiro Burr of the San Antonio Express-News praised the track as a "feverish merengue about an Internet romance."[13]

In a mixed review of Ni Es lo Mismo Ni Es, El Norte's Deborah Davis cited "Mi PC" as one of songs from the album that is "moving and intelligent".[14] Jacob Edgar of The Beat magazine called the single a "Juan Luis Guerra classic" and felt it "rivals" "A Pedir Su Mano" from Bachata Rosa (1990).[15] The Knight Ridder critic Fernando Gonzalez admired the track as a "catchy merengue that plays on the imagery and language of our computer-enhanced lives".[16]

Commercially, "Mi PC" topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay charts in the United States;[17][18] the single spent five weeks at this position on the latter chart.[18] It was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2001 BMI Latin Awards.[19] Guerra performed the song live at the Altos de Chavón amphitheater in La Romana, Dominican Republic on 18 December 1999, and at the 2000 Viña del Mar Festival.[20][21]

Charts

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Roberts, John Storm. "Juan Luis Guerra y 440 – Fogaraté Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Ni es el mismo, ni es igual". Reforma (in Spanish). 6 December 1998. p. 17. ProQuest 310129603. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ "En breve". La Opinión (in Spanish). 29 October 1997. p. 2D. ProQuest 368229445. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ "Vuelve a dar 'guerra'". Reforma (in Spanish). 8 February 1998. p. 4. ProQuest 311604784. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Juan Luis Guerra cumple 41 años". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 7 June 1998. p. 59. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Regresará Juan Luis Guerra y su 4-40". El Siglo del Torreón (in Spanish). 3 November 1998. p. 29. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Gutierrez, Evan C. "Juan Luis Guerra y 440 - Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "De Aqui y De Alla". El Norte (in Spanish). 14 November 1998. p. 8. ProQuest 316130357. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ a b c Lannert, John (9 January 1999). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 2. p. 14. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  10. ^ Cabral, Euri (2008). Juan Luis Guerra y 4-40 : merengue y bachata a ritmo de poesía y compromiso. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Editora Búho. p. 263. ISBN 9789945408171. Se llama 'Mi PC' y en él Juan Luis utiliza todo el argot de las computadoras y la cibernética para narrar una bonita historia de amor.
  11. ^ Darling, Cary (8 January 1999). "End of Year Goes Latin". Orange County Register. p. 8. ProQuest 279287424. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ Holston, Mark (June 1999). "Ni es lo mismo, ni es igual". Hispanic. Vol. 12, no. 6. p. 74. ISSN 0898-3097. ProQuest 237007796. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  13. ^ Burr, Ramiro (25 April 1999). "Guerra No Longer Absent from Charts". San Antonio Express-News. p. 4G. ProQuest 261982501. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  14. ^ Davis, Deborah (24 January 1999). "Juan Luis Guerra 440 : En verdad que no es lo mismo". El Norte (in Spanish). p. 35. ProQuest 316077744. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via ProQuest.
  15. ^ Edgar, Joel (1999). "The Boss of Bachata". The Beat. 18: 38.
  16. ^ Gonzalez, Fernando (4 January 1999). "Dominican Singer Back in Spotlight". The Gazette. p. 3C. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b Roiz, Jessica (7 June 2022). "All of Juan Luis Guerra's No. 1 Hot Latin Songs Hits: 'Palomita Blanca,' 'Mi PC' & More". Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  18. ^ a b c "Juan Luis Guerra Chart History: Tropical Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  19. ^ "BMI Honors Top Latin Songwriters and Publishers at 8th Annual Awards Ceremony". Broadcast Music, Inc. 20 April 2001. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Guerra despide al Siglo 20". Reforma (in Spanish). 19 December 1999. p. 20. ProQuest 310394271. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  21. ^ Guerra, Juan Luis (performer) (2000). Mi PC, Festiva de Viña 2000 (Television). Festiva de Viña Chile. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  22. ^ a b "1999: The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. 25 December 1999. pp. 76, 78. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
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