Los del Río - Biography
Los del Rio

Biography

Los del Río

Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael Ruiz Perdigones, born in Dos Hermanas, (Seville, Spain) are the members of the musical duo "Los del Río". They got together in 1962, when they were 14 years old, to participate in the "Ronda del Domingo" program on Radio Sevilla Cadena Ser. It was the first time they had performed in public and they surprised the entire audience. From the hand of one of the most important representatives of the time, Antonio Pulpón, they got their first contract in the "El Guajiro" flamenco tablao, in Seville, where they shared the stage with the greatest of flamenco, it is in 1965 when they appear for first time on national television.

In 1966 they recorded their first album, with Columbia, a four-song EP recorded live at the Lope de Vega Theater in Seville. That same year, "Las Brujas" and "Corral de la Moreria" made their debut in Madrid, in the most popular flamenco tablaos of the time, with notable success album.

In 1969 they made their first trip to America, heading to New York to land in Mexico City, with the company of La Contrahecha, where they achieved great triumphs in the famous El Dorado club. Upon her return from American lands, Lola Flores calls them to start working in her club "Caripén", where they are surrounded by great artists of the time and celebrities from all over the world.

In the 70's they are the pioneers of entering discotheque; flamenco rumbas and sevillanas, with unprecedented success where they conquer all kinds of audiences. Their career continues unstoppable and they become the fashionable group of "high society" from King Juan Carlos I of Spain to Hussein of Jordan, passing through the most influential businessmen in the country.

It is in the 80s with hits like "Suave, suave", "Me enamore de tí", "Caramelos, pipas y avellanas" they achieve consecration as number one in the Andalusian music scene. On the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1992 in Seville, they recorded the song "Sevilla tiene un color especial". The theme became the unofficial anthem of the event and had a great impact nationally and internationally, so much so that it has become an emblematic song, which has reached the present day, with its appearance in the highest grossing film of the history of Spanish cinema: "Ocho Apellidos vascos".

But their greatest success would come in 1993, when they composed their song "Macarena", which marked a before and after in their career. The song became a social phenomenon that would end up crossing borders and generations will break all imaginable records, with more than 14 million copies sold in the world, in 1996 it remains at number 1 on the Billboard list for 14 consecutive weeks. The success of "Macarena" was welcomed at major world events: it was used by Bill Clinton in his campaign for the presidency of the United States; the Olympic Games in Atlanta, the NBA final, and they were also in charge of animating the break of the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

That same year they responded to the call of Pope John Paul II to perform at the Vatican Christmas concert.

In the following years they popularized rumbas such as “Sevillania” “San Sereni” “El gallo” “Dos Orillas” “Se te nota en la mirada” “Quisiera ser invisible” as well as “El Gloria” to the Virgen del Rocío and countless number of sevillanas, continue with thousands of concerts around the world and an average of one album a year with the record companies Hispavox, Columbia, Disco-Fon, Zafiro, B.M.G. Ariola, Warner Music.

In 2019 they perform a concert tour with the famous violinist Andre Rieu, in 2021 they record the single "Dentro de mi guitarra" with notable success.

They have collaborated with a large number of national and international artists such as Lola Flores, Julio Iglesias, Oscar de León, Rocio Jurado, Montserrat Caballé, Jon Secada, Dyango, Andre Rieu, Gente de Zona or the rapper Tyga, among others.

Today Macarena is still unbeatable, in 2021 Billboard magazine ranked it at number 8 of the top 100 of the best songs of all time, being the most listened to and sold Spanish song in the entire globe, there are more Of 4,500 versions of Macarena, it is still very current, appearing in soundtracks of films such as "Hotel Transylvania" or video games such as "Fornite". The magazine Vogue chose her along with the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny to launch their 2022 campaign.

In 2021 they released the single "Inside my guitar" with notable success and in 2022 they recorded their new single and video clip "Viene lo bueno", with an optimistic message of a contagious rhythm that invites you to dance.

Currently, Los del Rio, after having recorded more than 40 albums, being recognized and awarded worldwide throughout their career, with sales of more than 15 million albums and having 250 gold albums and 120 albums of Platinum, they continue to tour the world celebrating their 60 years in music and with the same enthusiasm as always.