La media vuelta

When Luis Miguel set out to revive classics of Mexican music on his album Segundo Romance, one of the chosen songs was La Media Vuelta. This piece, originally written and released by José Alfredo Jiménez in 1963, was already a gem of the traditional repertoire. Luis Miguel's version, recorded in mid-1994 in Los Angeles, California, gave it a particular twist by fusing the ranchera genre with bolero elements, incorporating strings, brass, and Spanish guitars that give it a very polished sound. The result was a resounding success, reaching the top spot on important charts like the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay, in addition to topping the charts in Mexico and Panama.

The recording of Segundo Romance featured the collaboration of producers such as Juan Carlos Calderón, Kiko Cibrián, and Armando Manzanero, who worked in the Record Plant studios. The production of La Media Vuelta, with a duration of 2:41, included the mixing by Craig Brock and Paul McKenna. The music video that accompanied this single, filmed in black and white and directed by Pedro Torres, showed Luis Miguel in a bar, reliving a story of romantic disillusionment. It featured recognized figures from the Mexican artistic scene such as Juan Gabriel, Lola Beltrán, and Katy Jurado, among others, as well as José Alfredo Jiménez's own son. This audiovisual work was recognized with the Lo Nuestro award for Video of the Year and, in 1996, La Media Vuelta was distinguished at the ASCAP Latin Awards as one of the most outstanding songs of the year. The song's popularity spread, and another version, by Texan singer Michael Salgado on his album De Buenas Raíces (1996), also had a presence on the hit charts.