El Niágara en Bicicleta

"El Niágara en Bicicleta"
Single by Juan Luis Guerra y 4-40
from the album Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual
Released	May 1999
Format	Airplay
Genre	Merengue
Length	4:25
Label	Karen
Writer(s)	Juan Luis Guerra
Producer(s)	Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra y 4-40 singles chronology
"Palomita Blanca" (1999) "El Niagara en Bicicleta" (1999) "La Hormiguita" (1999)

"El Niágara en Bicicleta" (English: Niagara Falls by Bicycle, literally Niagara Falls on a Bicycle) is a song written and performed by Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra and his backup vocal group, 4-40. The track was released as the third single released from his eighth studio album, Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual which Guerra produced by himself.^[1] The single became a success on the Top Latin Songs and Latin Tropical Airplay chart where it peaked #2.^[2] It was the best-performing Latin Tropical Airplay song of 1999.^[3]

Song Information

	Juan Luis Guerra "El Niágara en Bicicleta" (1998) 24 second sample from Juan Luis Guerra's "El Niágara en Bicicleta".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The phrase "[pasar] el Niágara en bicicleta" (English: to ride a bicycle across Niagara Falls) is a Dominican idiom used to describe overcoming a difficult situation.^[4] In the song, Guerra uses the term to describe the near impossibility of obtaining medical treatment in a developing country. He has been known to compose political songs that reflect on the current situation in his country.^[5] In writing the song, Guerra stated that he was inspired by "a pressing problem with public health services in my country.^[6] The song was based on the experience on a hospital trip he took for his high bilirubin and criticized the lack of equipment that was either broken or unavailable.^[7]

Music video

The music video was directed by Venezuelan-American JC Barros and was filmed in Santo Domingo and Miami, Florida over two days.^[8] As with the song, the music video takes place in a hospital after a person had an accident on a bicycle. Due to a lack of supplies however, the person is asked to wait for his turn in a long line of people.^[9]

Chart performance

"El Niágara en Bicicleta" debuted at #39 where it climbed to #5 on the week of May 8, 1999.^[10] The song then peaked #2 on the Top Latin Songs on the week of May 29, 1999 for which was being held off by Ricky Martin's song Livin' La Vida Loca.^[11]

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)[12]	2
US Latin Pop Songs (Billboard)[13]	4
US Tropical Songs (Billboard)[14]	2

Reception

On the review of the album, Evan Gutierrez described "El Niágara en Bicicleta" as "irresistibly singable".^[15] David Wilson of Wilson & Alroy's called the song "an interesting merengue-rap".^[16] On an editorial review of the album, Fernando Gonzalez of Amazon.com called the song the highlight of disc describing it as "Guerra at his very best".^[17] In 2000, the song received a Latin Grammy Award for "Best Tropical Song" as well as a Latin Grammy Award nomination for "Song of the Year".^[18][19] The song also received a Latin Billboard Music Award for "Tropical/Salsa Track of the Year".^[20]

References

1. "Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual - Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
2. "Juan Luis Guerra — Charts & Awards — Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
3. "1999-The Year of Music: Hot Tropical/Salsa Tracks". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 111 (52): 16.
4. Perez, Jose. "Dominican epression". guavaberry. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
5. Levin, Jordan (June 21, 2002). "Guerra's Music Mirrors Dominican Republic". The Miami Herald. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
6. Juárez, Celeste. "Juan Luis Guerra". in. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
7. Small, Mark. "Juan Luis Guerra: Tropical Music Superstar". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
8. Rivera, Miguel. "Juan Luis Guerra pide al pueblo que se apegue a Dios para detener la violencia". Guavaberry.net (in Spanish). Retrieved September 14, 2010.
9. Guerra, Juan Luis (actor, singer). El Niágara en Bicicleta by Juan Luis Guerra Music Video on Yahoo! Music (Music video) (in Spanish). Yahoo! Music. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
10. "El Niágara en Bicicleta — Week of December 5, 1998". Billboard. May 8, 1999. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
11. "El Niágara en Bicicleta — Week of May 29, 1999". Billboard. May 29, 1999. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
12. "Juan Luis Guerra – Chart history" Billboard Hot Latin Songs for Juan Luis Guerra. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
13. "Juan Luis Guerra – Chart history" Billboard Latin Pop Songs for Juan Luis Guerra. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
14. "Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual — Charts & Awards — Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation.
15. Gutierrez, Evan. "Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
16. Wilson, David. "Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews - Juan Luis Guerra". warr.org. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
17. Gonzalez, Fernando. "Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual - Editorial Reviews". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
18. Bashman, David (September 14, 2000). "Santana, Luis Miguel, Maná Lead Latin Grammy Winners". MTV. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
19. Bresson, Nancy (July 7, 2000). "Latin Grammy Nominations Announced". NBC. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
20. Lannert, John (April 29, 2000). "And The Award Goes To...". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.): LM-62. Retrieved September 14, 2010.