Friday Flashback

Hello, Buenos Aires!

June 20, 2008 0 Comments

If all goes according to plan, when you read this I’ll have landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’m spending about a week in the South American city, prepping and shooting a TV spot.

Between casting callbacks and location scouting, my group should have some time to check out the city, so I’ve picked up a few travel guides in preparation. Shock of shocks, one of the most popular tourist attractions is Eva Perón’s tomb at the Cementerio de la Recoleta. So I’m sure we’ll join the throngs and pay our respects to Evita and some of the country’s most influential figures.

Thing is, as much of a Madonna fan as I am, I’ve never seen her Golden Globe-winning performance. I missed the film’s theatrical release, and though I later received the VHS tape as a gift, I’d never popped it in. Funny how life works out: I’ll see the real Evita before I ever watch Madge’s turn as the legendary first lady. I did buy the deluxe edition of the Evita soundtrack, the domestic remix single of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” and hunted down the lesser known “Buenos Aires” promo mixes, so I have some familiarity, but still.

According to Wikipedia, “Buenos Aires” was picked as the lead single from the soundtrack, but “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” was instead made commercially available first (reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and hitting #1 on the dance chart). “Buenos Aires” was held in reserve until the fall of 1997, with remixes issued to DJs as a way to promote the home video release. This time, Madonna as Evita traveled only to #3.

To celebrate the my visit to BA (“South America’s most European city”), here’s the “Buenos Aires” video, featuring Pablo Flores & Javier Garza’s Te Amo Radio Mix: