Perfidia
{{short description|Song written by Alberto Domínguez}}
{{Other uses}}File:Dominguez-1941.jpg in 1941]]
{{ external media | float = right|audio1 = You may listen to Juan Arvizu performing Alberto Domínguez's bolero Perfidia with the Lorenzo Barcelata Orchestra [https://archive.org/details/78_perfidia_juan-arvizu-gonzalo-curiel_gbia0036033/02+-+Perfidia+-+Juan+Arvizu+-+Alberto+Dominguez.flac here]}}
"Perfidia" (Spanish for "perfidy", meaning faithlessness, treachery or betrayal) is a 1939 Spanish-language song written by Mexican composer and arranger Alberto Domínguez (1906–1975).{{cite book |last=Dominguez |first=Alberto |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70080033 |title=Perfidia: canción |publisher=Southern Music |year=1939 |location=New York |oclc=70080033 |quote=De la pelicula de William Rowland 'Perfidia' con Maria Teresa Montoya, Marina Tamayo, Domingo Soler, Magda Haller, Ramon Vallarino, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma y Maria Calvo. Distribuida por RKO Radio Pictures. |access-date=16 July 2020}} The song is sung from the perspective of a man whose lover has left him. The song has also been recorded in English (with lyrics by Milton Leeds) and as an instrumental.{{cite web |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/search?search_text=Perfidia |title=Search Results for 'perfidia' |website=SecondHandSongs}}
Recordings
- The song became a hit for Xavier Cugat on the Victor label in 1940.{{Cite book |last=Dean |first=Maury |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Rock_N_Roll_Gold_Rush/lJS4EArRBwoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=xavier+cugat+perfidia&pg=PA417&printsec=frontcover |title=Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia |date=2003 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-0-87586-227-9 |language=en}}
- In late 1960, a rock instrumental version of "Perfidia" was released by the Ventures, which rose to number 15 on the Billboard chart.{{cite book |title= Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2013 |publisher=Record Research |page=884}} The record was a Top 10 hit on a number of popular US music radio stations.
Other recordings
"Perfidia" has been recorded by several artists, including:
- Juan Arvizu[https://archive.org/details/78_perfidia_juan-arvizu-gonzalo-curiel_gbia0036033/02+-+Perfidia+-+Juan+Arvizu+-+Alberto+Dominguez.flac Perfidia interpreted by Juan Arvizu and the Lorenzo Barcelata Orchestra on archive.org]
- Crveni Koralji{{cite book|last=Janjatović|first=Petar|title= EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960–2006|year=2007|publisher=self-released|location=Belgrade|page=48}}
- Xavier Cugat{{Cite web|url = https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633240/m1/#track/4|title = Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #5|year = 1972|access-date = 2020-04-11|archive-date = 2020-04-11|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200411074752/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633240/m1/#track/4|url-status = live}}
- Carlos García. A one-armed Mexican street performer, originally from Michoacán, who makes music by blowing on the side of an ivy leaf. Recorded on a sidewalk, and featured on a CD, Sinfonia Urbana. It was overdubbed with strings by the Kronos Quartet for their 2002 album Nuevo.{{cite web |title=Leaf Player |website=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2002/12/30/895341/the-leaf-player-of-the-zocalo |publisher=NPR |access-date=2 May 2020 |archive-date=8 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808191601/https://www.npr.org/2002/12/30/895341/the-leaf-player-of-the-zocalo |url-status=live }}
- Mel Tormé on his 1959, ¡Olé Tormé!: Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May{{cite web|title=www.allmusic.com|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ol%C3%A9-torm%C3%A9-mw0000223089|website=www.allmusic.com|accessdate=July 7, 2024}}
In popular culture
- "Perfidia" is the title to a chapter of Nora Johnson's 1986 novel Tender Offer. The song highlights the theme of the story's zenith and the actual song is described being played during a crucial scene.{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Nora|title=Tender Offer|year=1985|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=0-671-55666-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tenderoffer00john/page/176 176–200]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/tenderoffer00john/page/176}}
- Perfidia is the title of a 1997 novel by Judith Rossner. The song lyrics are quoted several times in the narrative.{{Cite web |title=Time Bomb |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/19/reviews/971019.19masont.html |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}
- Linda Ronstadt's version of the song in English with a Spanish introduction was used in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. Ronstadt also recorded the song in Spanish for her 1992 album Frenesí. At the 9th Lo Nuestro Awards, her version received a nomination for Tropical Song of the Year.{{cite magazine| last = Lannert| first = John| date = March 30, 1993| title = Secada Lead Latin Noms Following Grammy Win| magazine = Billboard| publisher = Nielsen Business Media, Inc.| volume = 105| issue = 10| page = 10| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0w8EAAAAMBAJ&q=no+se+tu+luis+miguel&pg=PA10| access-date = January 3, 2013| archive-date = January 3, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160103033249/https://books.google.com/books?id=0w8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10&dq=no+se+tu+luis+miguel&hl=es-419&sa=X&ei=_PzlUJ3QOcKsjALfhYEQ&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBg| url-status = live}}
References
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Category:Songs written by Alberto Domínguez