Los del RíoThe song that won over the Clintons

Andalusian influencers around the world

The Macarena was a global hit in 1996 filling dancefloors all over the world with people doing the dance sequence

Jennie Rhodes

In 1996 the whole world was swept up in Macarena fever. The original flamenco hit was written by a duo from Dos Hermanas in Seville. In 1993, Los del Río, consisting of Antonio Romero and Rafael Ruiz, created the song Macarena, inspired by a flamenco dancer from Venezuela.

The song and its iconic choreography took off in the Spanish charts in 1993. Thanks to a dance remix by the Bayside Boys, which added female vocals in English, the song spread around the world, getting people dancing to Andalusian rhythms.

The song's incredible success made it a global pop-flamenco phenomenon. In 1996, Antonio Romero and Rafael Ruiz reached the top of the US charts with a remix of their song and stayed there for 14 weeks.

While it is known as an upbeat, cheesy pop song, the original Spanish lyrics tell a much more serious story. The song is about a woman named Macarena who is cheating on her boyfriend, Vitorino, with two of his best friends while he is away in the army.

In the mid-1990s every nightclub from Aberdeen to Amsterdam and Copenhagen to Kansas was filled with people doing the dance: the accompanying arm and hip sequence with a jump and a quarter-turn and while non-Spanish speakers may not have picked up all of the lyrics, everyone joined in at the 'ey Macarena' bit.

Following the success of Macarena, Los del Río played at major global events including the Atlanta Olympic Games and the NBA Final. The song was used by Bill Clinton in his campaign for the presidency and there is footage of Hilary Clinton and other democrats dancing to it at the 1996 Democratic National Convention on YouTube, although Bill Clinton appears not to have joined in.

Los del Río also performed at a Christmas concert at the Vatican, a performance during the half-time break of the 1997 Super Bowl and, a year later, at the European Football Championship final.

The song ranks at number seven on Billboard's list of the top 100 greatest songs of all time, with over 4,700 covers, and has featured as the soundtrack to the film Hotel Transylvania and the video game Fortnite.

Los del Río continue to perform and make music and in January this year they joined violinist André Rieu on stage at Martin Carpena in Malaga for the finale of his concert to perform Macarena together.

In March this year the duo spoke out against Trump using a remastered version of the song in a video accompanying footage of the US attacks on Iran. Speaking on Canal Sur Televisión, Antonio Romero said it made his hairs stand on end and said that he created the song “to cheer up the world, not to ruin it”.