Abba - Chiquitita

The United Nations declared 1979 the Year Of The Child. Abba generously donated all royalties for Chiquitita to UNICEF, thus raising millions for them. It reached no. 2 in Britain, and had similar success across Europe.
Abba's manager Stig Anderson was a marketing genius. He realised that foreign speaking markets could be captured by recording in their own language. Abba re-recorded many of their best songs in Spanish for the South American fans. No other major group took the trouble to do this, but Abba did and that was typical of their considerate approach.
The Spanish version of Chiquitita was recorded on March 8 1979. The lyrics were written by Buddy & Mary McCluskey who worked for RCA in Argentine.
Buddy said "Abba were already popular here, but this record made the break for them. Both versions were hits, but the Spanish one was the biggest smash. I helped Agnetha and Frida with their Spanish pronounciation and found they were very good at languages already, now they are perfect."
This performance was recorded in Madrid on May 28 1979 for broadcast to Spanish speaking countries. The girls Spanish is indeed perfect here, they sing the difficult lyrics without any hesitations. They were presented with a gold disc for sales of this song afterwards.
The Spanish version was released as a single on June 12 1979, with colossal success. It reached no. 1 in Spain, Argentine, Mexico and most South American countries.
Abba had put their fans first again!

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[spacegasp]

@abbafanglosuk .......Well,.at least Ascrida Ragenvaldsdottir is certainly pleased. ....( If you`re not familiar with Swedish history...never mind.)

[abbafanglosuk]

I think she's one of the early Vikings, and lived from 825-913 and was the grandmother of Rollo of Norway who conquered Normandy. His descendant William The Conqueror later conquered England in 1066. These Abba Vikings likewise conquered the world with their fantastic music!

[spacegasp]

@abbafanglosuk Somewhere, somehow, I know that Njord is pleased with Abba...so am I.

[abbafanglosuk]

I think he was the Norse god of prosperity, so I agree - Abba are one of the most successful groups ever!

[Jimelive]

Mi papá nos compro este disco cuando mis hermanas y yo eramos muy pequeñas y siempre nos cantaba... es una de las canciones mas significativas de mi vida.

[audioslavedm]

una hermosa melodia mucha nostalgia jaime peru new york

[Jrxxtheman]

swag.

[10xiomara]

The Abba Vikings conquerd the world  with their fantastic music.......

[paulienahable]

chiquitita in spanish, thanks Abba that was so lovely i can never get enough of yoi

[MividaesJesus]

Hay esta cancion es hermosa se la dedico hoy en su cumple a mi mamita Myriam Rugel, saludos a todos los de Lima-Peru, especialmente a la gente de Comas Km 13, Pedro de la Gasca=). Dios me los bendiga a todos.

[earthmother]

YAY, ABBA

[alibraiz]

Amo ABBA,tempos q não voltam mais .........................mas vivi estes momentos.ObrigadoDeus por isso.

[1rioken]

cantaban en perfecto español considerando que su idioma materno es el sueco... ABBA SIEMPRE SERAS MI GRUPO FAVORITO OS AMO.....

[mcnoobert]

andrew milroy rip

[Ninatv2007]

Es agradable volver a rememorar esta canción, pues se trata de uno de mis preferidos de este grupo.

Es interesante que en esa época, un grupo que era exitoso cantando en inglés se haya decidido a traducir y grabar su música en español y tener éxito en nuestro idioma, cuando por lo general la norma era hacerlo a la inversa (de español a inglés).

Además lo cantaban muy bien para no hablar español, aunque es cierto que hay cantantes que cantan sus obras en idiomas que no hablan.

Saludos a todos.

[ThePz98]

I love this song!