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Vida Loca
Studio album by Francisco Céspedes
Released	August 1997
Studio	Estudio 19 (Mexico City, Mexico)
Genre	Latin pop
Length	39:16
Language	Spanish
Label	WEA Latina
Francisco Céspedes chronology
Vida Loca (1997) Donde Está la Vida (2000)
Singles from Vida Loca
"Se me Antoja" Released: 1997 "Señora" Released: 1998 "Vida Loca" Released: 1998 "Remolino" Released: 1999

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Vida Loca (transl. Crazy Life) is the first studio album by Cuban singer-songwriter Francisco Céspedes, released in August 1997 by WEA Latina. In Spain the album was awarded with an Amigo Award [es] for the best Latin album. It was nominated for Pop Album of the Year by a New Artist at the 1999 Billboard Latin Music Awards, but lost to Carlos Ponce. By June 2000, the record had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

History

In August 1997 Céspedes released his debut album, and the first single "Se me Antoja". The album languished selling no more than 10,000 copies by year's end. The things changed when network TV Azteca held a contest to find the title track for a new soap, Señora [es]. Céspedes submitted a song written specifically for that purpose, and out of hundreds, it got picked. "Señora," the song, became the title track of Señora, the soap, and it was added as a bonus track to Vida Loca in the second edition, the single sold 10,000 copies in Mexico. By year's end, the album had sold 180,000 copies in Mexico alone, and Cespedes was on his way to becoming an international star.

After seeing Céspedes perform in Mexico City, Alejandro Sanz persuaded Warner Music Spain president Saul Tagarro to promote Céspedes' CD "Vida Loca" in Spain. By mid-December 1998, "Vida Loca" had sold 350,000 units, and was eventually awarded with five platinum certifications by PROMUSICAE for shipping over 500,000 copies. In addition, Cespedes, won one Premio Ondas and three Amigo Awards [es], including one for the best Latin album.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Francisco Céspedes, except where noted

Personnel

Adapted from the Vida Loca liner notes:

Performance credits

• Waldo Madera – drums, percussion
• Agustin Bernal – double bass
• Raúl del Sol – acoustic piano (tracks 2, 4, 7, 9), chorus
• Eugenio Toussaint – acoustic piano (tracks 1, 5–6)
• Jorge Aragón – acoustic piano (tracks 3, 8)
• Fernando Otero – piano (track 11)
• Dean Parks – steel acoustic guitar
• Freddy Ramos – nylon acoustic guitar
• Gil Gutiérrez – guitar
• Chilo Morán – trumpet (track 2)
• Fernando Acosta – saxophone
• Yomo Toro – cuatro (track 4)
• Alcira Herrera – chorus
• Maryori González – chorus
• Elizabeth Meza – chorus
• Pancho – chorus
• Aneiro – chorus
• Silantiva Vera – strings
• Jorge Deletze – strings
• Bozena Slawinska – strings
• Matthew Paul Schubring – strings
• Viktoria Horti – strings
• Naomi Eve Brickman – strings
• Abraham Mayer – strings
• Vladimir Tokarev – strings

Technical credits

• Juan Carlos Paz y Puente – executive producer, direction A&R
• Aneiro Taño – co-producer, arrangements
• Salvador Tercero – engineer, mixing engineer
• Raúl Durand – assistant
• Jean B. Smit – mixing engineer
• Andy Richter – assistant
• Leon Zervos – mastering engineer
• Ron McMaster – mastering engineer (track 11)
• Eugenio Toussaint – arrangements
• Manolo González Loyola – arrangements
• Mark Kamins – direction A&R
• Edgar Ladrón de Guevara – photography
• Jessica Fallon – graphic design
• Lidia Salazar – coordination in Mexico
• Laura Cárdenas – coordination in Mexico
• Maricela Valencia – coordination in Mexico
• Nina Swan – coordination in Los Angeles
• Freddy Ramos – coordination in Los Angeles
• Raúl Ortega Alfonso – exergues

Recording and mixing locations

• Estudio 19, Mexico City – recording
• Westlake Recording Studios – Studio A, Los Angeles, CA – mixing
• Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, CA – mixing (track 11)
• Absolute Audio – mastering
• Capitol Mastering, Los Angeles, CA – mastering (track 11)

Charts

Sales and certifications

References

1. "A Tono/ Echele un oido a estas novedades". El Norte (in Spanish). 20 September 1997. p. 10. Retrieved 10 September 2022 – via ProQuest.
2. Nunez, Yasmin (29 July 1998). "Viene a cantar toda su 'locura'". El Norte (in Spanish). p. 11. Retrieved 10 September 2022 – via ProQuest.
3. "Francisco Céspedes promueve su cuarto sencillo". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Editora de la Laguna. 22 January 1999. p. 75. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
4. "Vida Loca - Francisco Céspedes | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
5. Lannert, John (April 24, 1999). "10th Annual Billboard Latin Music Conference". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 17. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
6. "Brilla Cespedes". Reforma (in Spanish). 5 July 1998. p. 15. Retrieved 10 September 2022 – via ProQuest.
7. Cobo, Leila (18 August 2001). "Latin Soaps Go Pop". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 33. p. 1. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
8. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos. Año a año. 1959–2002 (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Iberautor Promociones Culturales. p. 961. ISBN 9788480486392.
9. "Julio in Chile, Thalia in Spain and Soledad in Miami". Billboard. 20 February 1999. p. LM4. Retrieved 10 September 2022 – via ProQuest.
10. Céspedes, Francisco (1998). Vida Loca (Album liner notes). México: WEA Latina. 3984-22834-2.
11. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 52. 26 December 1998. p. 8. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
12. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 9 January 1999. p. 39. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
13. "Los 50 títulos con mayores ventas en las listas de ventas de AFYVE en 1998" (PDF). SGAE. 2000. p. 217. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
14. "Los 50 títulos con mayores ventas en las listas de ventas de AFYVE en 1999" (PDF). SGAE. 2000. p. 217. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
15. "El Disco En Aprietos". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 9 September 2001. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
16. "Francisco Céspedes". Cromos. No. 4239–4247. Grupo Títulos R.T.I. 1999. p. 15. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
17. "Certificaciones Amprofon" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
18. "American album certifications – Francisco Céspedes – Vida Loca". Recording Industry Association of America.
19. "Céspedes abandona México". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Editora de la Laguna. 28 June 2000. p. 37. Retrieved 9 September 2022.

• 1997 debut albums
• 1990s Spanish-language albums
• Warner Music Latina albums