La Isla Bonita

"La Isla Bonita" (Spanish for "The Beautiful Island") is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album True Blue (1986). Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch created it as an instrumental demo and offered it to singer Michael Jackson, who turned it down. When Leonard met Madonna to start working on True Blue, he played the demo for her. Madonna came up with the title, wrote the lyrics and produced the song with Leonard. It is her first song with Latin influences. Its instrumentation features flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish. The lyrics talk about an island named San Pedro, whose location has been debated. Madonna said the song was her tribute to Latin Americans.

Upon its release as the fifth and final single from True Blue on February 25, 1987, "La Isla Bonita" was positively received by music critics, who cited it as a highlight in the album. It was commercially successful, becoming her eleventh top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and second Adult Contemporary number one. It topped the charts in Canada and several countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom―where it became Madonna's fourth number one―France, West Germany, and Austria. In the accompanying music video, Madonna portrays two opposite characters: a young Catholic woman, and a flamenco dancer. The clip received mixed reviews from authors and contemporary critics: some saw the use of Hispanic imagery as a successful marketing strategy, while others accused the singer of cultural appropriation.

"La Isla Bonita" has been included on eight of Madonna's concert tours and covered by multiple artists, including Ricky Martin and Alizée. It has also been referred to as one of Madonna's best songs, and features on her compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).

Background and release
In the fall of 1985, Madonna began writing and recording songs for her third studio album, True Blue. For the project, she brought back Stephen Bray―with whom she had worked on her previous album Like a Virgin (1984)―and the Virgin Tour's musical director, producer Patrick Leonard. Prior to working with Madonna, Leonard had worked on the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour. After the tour concluded, he kept in touch with Michael Jackson and his manager Quincy Jones, who contacted him and asked him to write "something sort of Sade-like" for Jackson. "La Isla Bonita" was one of the instrumental demos Leonard created for Jackson's approval. According to musician Bruce Gaitsch, who collaborated on the track, it started out as an instrumental without any lyrics or even a title, and it was Leonard's idea to incorporate Latin sounds. When he presented the demo to Jackson and Jones, however, they did not like it and turned it down.

After meeting with Madonna to start working on True Blue, Leonard presented her the demo and she began working on it. She came up with the title "La Isla Bonita", which roughly translates to "The Beautiful Island", and wrote the lyrics while she was in Hong Kong filming Shanghai Surprise. Gaitsch was not fond of the title, fearing it to be "uncommercial". Madonna went on to describe the song as a tribute to the "beauty and mystery of Latin American people", further adding that, "[Pat and I] both think that we were Latin in another life[...] [because] Latin rhythms often dominate our uptempo compositions". Leonard and her would go on to work together on other Latin-inspired songs, such as "Who's That Girl"―from the film of the same name―and "Spanish Eyes"―from Like a Prayer (1989).

"La Isla Bonita" was released as the fifth and final single from True Blue on February 25, 1987. The sleeve cover of the single shows Madonna wearing a Spanish-styled embroidered bolero jacket. "La Isla Bonita" is also on Madonna's compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009). In 2014, while working on her thirteenth studio album Rebel Heart (2015) with producer Diplo, Madonna recorded a dubplate of "La Isla Bonita" with new lyrics that referenced trio Major Lazer. This version premiered in March 2015 on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Composition and lyrics
"La Isla Bonita" was written and produced by Madonna and Leonard, with additional lyrics by Gaitsch. Personnel working on the song included Leonard on keyboard arrangement and programming, Gaitsch on guitars, and Paulinho da Costa as percussionist; background vocals were performed by Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehmann. The song has been described as a "Latino-pop dance ballad", while its sound has been compared to Bossa nova. According to author Mary Cross, "La Isla Bonita" marked a departure in Madonna's sound, as it combines flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, electronic sounds, maracas, and includes four lines sung in Spanish. To get the correct translations, Leonard and Madonna talked over the phone with a Hispanic housekeeper. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., "La Isla Bonita" is set in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. The song is set in the key of C♯ minor (F♯ minor for the bridge), with Madonna's voice spanning between G3 to C5.

Lyrically, "La Isla Bonita" talks about a "humble observer, captured by the rhythm of an imagined island" named San Pedro, with mentions of "tropical breeze" and "nature wild and free". The song starts with an introduction performed on bongos, before descending into castanets. Madonna then utters the phrase ¿Cómo puede ser verdad? ("How can it be true?"). In one line, Madonna specifically sings, Last night I dreamt of San Pedro/Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song. The geographic location of said place has been debated, with Cuba, Belize, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic being cited as possibilities. Certain authors have speculated that San Pedro Town in Ambergris Caye, Belize, is the actual place mentioned on the song. On its official website, the island's Victoria House Resort & Spa posted that the town has been nicknamed "La Isla Bonita" because of the song.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna admitted to not knowing where San Pedro was: "I don't know [where San Pedro is]. At that point, I wasn't a person who went on holidays to beautiful islands. I may have been on the way to the studio and seen an exit ramp for San Pedro". Authors Eduardo Viñuela, Igor Paskual and Lara González, noted that although the song features characteristic elements of Spanish music, such as flamenco guitar, its lyrics make mention of Brazilian music genre samba. The authors held that this "complicates" the location of the island, thereby making it a fictitious "utopic" place rather than an actual one. Similarly, Daniel Garrán from Spanish radio station Los 40 argued that the lyrics are a "tribute to the Latin community from New York [Madonna] has always been close to", and do not talk about a real place.

Critical reception
Upon release, "La Isla Bonita" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics and authors. In Madonna: An Intimate Biography, author J. Randy Taraborrelli deemed it an "exotic [...] enchanting, uptempo Spanish-themed song with an equally enchanting melody". William McKeen, author of Rock and Roll is Here to Stay, referred to it as "tranquil" and compared its lyrical theme of an "imaginary escape from the city" to that of the Drifters' "Up on the Roof" (1962); McKeen went on to cite it as an example of the "Latin-flavored sweet[s] that Blondie could never resist". For Creem's Ken Barnes, "['La Isla Bonita'] is no 'Open Your Heart', but its lilting (yet reflective) quality transcends the south-of-the-border cliches". Dawn Keetley in Public Women, Public Words, said "La Isla Bonita" was "smooth [and] transparent", as well as one of Madonna's "most perfect" songs. In Madonna: The Rolling Stone Files, Jean Rosenbluth noted that the single "grabs hold with its bright bilingual chant [and] its vaguely mournful undertow". Daryl Easlea, author of Madonna: Blond Ambition, wrote that "La Isla Bonita" and the other True Blue singles are "so strong that they overshadow the reminder of [the album]". For Lucy O'Brien, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, True Blue's "sense of romantic thrill" is reflected in songs like "La Isla Bonita".

The New York Times' Jon Pareles said it was one of the singer's "friendlier" love songs. AllMusic's Stewart Mason considered it True Blue's "most prescient" track, that sounds "fresh and enjoyably new". He further singled out the singer's "purring" vocals as one of her "sexiest and most understated performances". From the Houston Chronicle, Marty Racine considered it one of the album's standout tracks, opining that it is "almost romantic, even if smacks of an overnight fling, where being true-blue is not so difficult". "La Isla Bonita" was referred to as "spunky" by John Leland for Spin, while Jan DeKnock from the Chicago Tribune said it was "charming". Writing for Entertainment Weekly, David Browne opined that, "a 30-ish urban sophisticate [...] making Carmen Miranda-does-MTV moves ought to sound ridiculous. With the help of collaborators like Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard, though [...] [it] turns into a perfectly conceived pop record". From Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani named it "timeless", and one of Madonna's "biggest, most influential hits", while Ed Schrodt applauded Leonard's "sneakily complex arrangement", and felt that the song "gave a dynanism to [Madonna's] music that finally perished the thoughts, based on her earliest hits, that she was simply a Danceteria pop tart". For Entertainment Weekly, Chuck Arnold added that the single explored Latin pop "before it became trendy", and noted its influence on the work of other artists, such as Lady Gaga's "Alejandro" (2010).

Despite referring to it as "pure risible kitsch [...] [a] clumsy fetishization of [an] exoticized culture", Stereogum's Tom Breihan deemed the track, "one of the swooniest jams in a career full of swoony jams". In his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, Rikky Rooksby gave a somewhat mixed review: "This is one of those songs where you just know the [music] video is going to be marginally more interesting". Despite naming it one of Madonna's best singles, the HuffPost's Matthew Jacobs opined that, "you have to be in the right mood for ['La Isla Bonita'] – its middling tempo can feel like a slog". More negative was the staff of the Kentucky New Era, who deemed the track forgettable and a "bad choice" in The Immaculate Collection.

Recognition
"La Isla Bonita" has often been cited as one of Madonna's best singles. Writing for The A.V. Club, Stephen Thomas Erlewine also named it Madonna's 20th best, singling out its "breezy charm" that "creates a fantasy of an extended tropical vacation". It's considered Madonna's 40th and 30th best song by the staff of Rolling Stone and The Guardian's Jude Rogers, respectively. For Chuck Arnold, "La Isla Bonita" is Madonna's 19th best single: "this island-breezy ditty is certainly one of the loveliest tunes that [she] has ever done", he wrote. It was considered the artist's 14th best song by the staff Billboard; Bianca Gracie said it was "one of the most romantic songs in her catalog", and applauded her "mature, lush vocals". Nick Levine from NME also named it one of her most romantic, as well as a "shimmering Latin pop gem that’s [...] ever so slightly melancholic". "La Isla Bonita" was named Madonna's tenth and eleventh best song by PinkNews' Mayer Nassim, and The Backlot's Louis Virtel, respectively: the former called it the "ultimate holiday romance", and the latter, one of her "most timeless tracks [...] As a romance, it’s touching, and as a personal reflection, it’s beautiful".

Commercial performance
On March 21, 1987, "La Isla Bonita" debuted at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Madonna's eleventh consecutive single to be named the week's top new entry –a streak that began with "Lucky Star" (1984)– and one of the most added songs on radio stations. By April 25, the song became Madonna's twelfth consecutive top ten hit, a record shared with Michael Jackson. "La Isla Bonita" was the fifth top ten single from True Blue, making it the second album by a female artist to score five top tens, the other being Janet Jackson's Control (1986). On May 2, the song reached its peak at number 4, becoming Madonna's eleventh single to reach the chart's first five spots, a feat surpassed at the time only by the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

On the Adult Contemporary chart, the single debuted at number 31 on the week of April 4, peaking at number one more than a month later. It was Madonna's second Adult Contemporary chart-topper after "Live to Tell". "La Isla Bonita" also reached number one on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart. Billboard reported that 75,000copies of the 12-inch single had been sold by July 1987. "La Isla Bonita" came in at number 58 on Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart for 1987, and at 34 of the Adult Contemporary year-end chart. In Canada, the single debuted in the 58th position of RPM's Top Singles chart on the week of April 4. After ten weeks on the chart, it reached the top position on June 6, 1987. "La Isla Bonita" placed at number 22 on the RPM Year-end chart for 1987.

In the United Kingdom, "La Isla Bonita" debuted at the fifth position of the singles chart on 4 April; it reached the first position three weeks later on 25 April, spending two weeks at number one and eleven on the chart overall. It was Madonna's fourth number one in the country. The single was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 400,000copies. According to Music Week magazine, 421,760copies had been sold in the United Kingdom as of 2008. "La Isla Bonita" was Madonna's first number one song in France, where it spent three weeks at the top spot in July 1987, and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipment of 500,000copies. It remains one of Madonna's highest-selling singles in the country, with reported sales exceeding 620,000units. The song was successful across Europe as well, topping the charts in Switzerland, West Germany, and Austria. "La Isla Bonita" also topped the European Hot 100 Singles chart the week of June 20, 1987. It reached the top five in Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and the top ten in Spain.

Background and synopsis
The music video for "La Isla Bonita" was directed by Mary Lambert, who had previously worked with Madonna in the videos for "Borderline" and "Like a Virgin" (1984). Filming took place in Downtown Los Angeles and lasted over three days. Over 500 extras of Hispanic descent participated in the visual; one of them was a then-unknown Benicio del Toro, who received a payment of $150. According to Sharon Oreck, in her book Video Slut (2010), it was a very simple shooting.

The visual shows the singer in two different sequences, playing different characters. In one sequence, she plays a short-haired Catholic woman in a New York City apartment. Dressed in a white slip, she lights candles at a living room altar full of Catholic imagery. She holds a rosary as she prays, and reminisces about the island San Pedro. In the memory sequence, she's seen in an apartment filled with lit candles; she plays a flamenco dancer, who dons a bright ruffled red dress and flowers in her hair. The video ends with Madonna, still in the flamenco dress, leaving the apartment and joining a group of people dancing on the streets of a Spanish barrio.

"La Isla Bonita" had its world premiere on MTV on March 6, 1987, and became the most requested video in the channel's history for a record-breaking 20 consecutive weeks. In Europe, it was the year's most heavily rotated clip on television. It can be found on Madonna's video compilations The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration: The Video Collection (2009).

Analysis and reception
Both author Victoria Chow and Juan Sanguino, from the Spanish edition of Vanity Fair, pointed out that the video for "La Isla Bonita" marked the moment Madonna began borrowing elements from other cultures, but the latter also accused her of cultural appropriation; "[she] looks more like a drunk tart at the Feria de Abril than a [flamenco] dancer [...] but at least she had the decency to grow her eyebrows", Sanguino wrote. In his book Media Culture: Cultural Studies, Identity, and Politics Between the Modern and the Postmodern, Douglas Kellner noted that Madonna's use of "fantasy images of Hispanic fashion as an icon of beauty and romanticism", helped her successfully appeal to a larger, more varied audience. Lucy O'Brien concluded that the image of Madonna in the red flamenco dress is "as iconic as the boy toy or the black corseted siren". This opinion was shared by People's  Cara Lynn Shultz and Aaron Parsley, who named the flamenco look one of the singer's "most unforgettable". Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of Madonna's Drowned Worlds, noted a contrast between the singer's characters: the "austerity and the passivity" of the Catholic character, and the "passion and activity" of the flamenco dancer.

The staff of Rolling Stone described it as one of the singer's most "theatrical" clips. By contrast Ryan Murphy, writing for The Spokesman-Review, panned it for being "lame, overdone, [and] almost absurd". He went on to compare it negatively to the previous True Blue videos, further noticing a "pervading sense of humor [that's] not supposed to be there", specifically in the scene when Madonna dances out in the street. "La Isla Bonita" was named Madonna's 34th and 20th best music video by Louis Virtel and Sal Cinquemani, respectively. As of 2024, it is her most viewed music video on YouTube.

Live performances
"La Isla Bonita" has been included on eight of Madonna's concert tours: Who's That Girl (1987), the Girlie Show (1993), Drowned World (2001), Confessions (2006), Sticky & Sweet (2008–2009), Rebel Heart (2015–2016), Madame X (2019–2020), and Celebration (2023–2024). On the first one, she wore a Spanish cabaret dress, and was joined by her backup singers Niki Haris, Donna De Lory, and Debra Parson; the stage was set up as a "Spanish fantasy", as noted by authors Carol Benson and Allen Metz. Jon Pareles opined that Madonna resembled a "tropical temptress" during the number. Two different performances can be found on the videos Who's That Girl: Live in Japan and Ciao Italia: Live from Italy (1988), filmed in Tokyo on June and in Turin on September, respectively.

On the Girlie Show, Madonna performed the song decked in horizontal stripes and a bandana, while the dancers were dressed as sailors. The number also included a bit where the singer pretended to fall and had to be dragged from the stage. The Baltimore Sun's J. D. Considine praised Madonna's musical chemistry with "her first-rate backing band" during the song. The performance recorded on November 19, 1993, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, was included on The Girlie Show: Live Down Under home video release (1994).

"La Isla Bonita" was one of only two of Madonna's 1980s singles performed on the Drowned World Tour. Decked out in black slacks, a backless black dress, and surrounded by a "gaggle of percussionists and dancers", she played acoustic guitar in an "unplugged flamenco" version of the song. Reviewing the Boston concert, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian's Nikolas Markantonatos pointed out that the number served as a reminder that, "[Madonna] dipped her feet in Latino music long before Ricky Martin shook his bon-bon to a worldwide Latin craze". The performance on August 26, 2001, at Detroit's Palace of Auburn Hills, was recorded and released on the live video album Drowned World Tour 2001.

Madonna sang a "disco-enhanced" version of "La Isla Bonita" on her Confessions Tour. She wore a white leotard while the backdrop screen showed colored images of a tropical island that mirrored the "voluptuousness of [her] dancing", according to Slant Magazine Ed Gonzalez. The performance from the August 15–16 London concerts was included on the singer's second live album, The Confessions Tour (2007).

On July 7, 2007, Madonna and gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello performed a "crazed hoedown" version of "La Isla Bonita" at the London Live Earth concert. For the Sticky & Sweet Tour, it was given a gypsy theme, with instrumentation from fiddles and accordions. In the number, Madonna gripped a rose in her teeth and was joined by Romani musicians and dancers, including the Ukrainian group Kolpakov Trio. The Denver Post's Ricardo Baca considered the performance "the show's brightest, boldest, most daring moment — a triumph of reinvention, like Madonna herself". The performance was included on the Sticky & Sweet Tour live album release (2010), recorded during the four concerts in Buenos Aires, Argentina.



On the Rebel Heart Tour, Madonna did a flamenco rendition of the song complete with "stomps, claps and shouts". She wore matador-inspired pants made from black tulle, with transparent beaded side paneling, and a black and fuchsia jacket covered in Swarovski crystals, adorned with the letter M. Pitchfork T. Cole Rachel noted that "La Isla Bonita" was one of the tour's numbers that, "resulted in nearly deafening arena-sized sing-alongs". The song's performance at the March 19–20, 2016 shows in Sydney's Allphones Arena was recorded and released on Madonna's fifth live album, Rebel Heart Tour (2017). On July 27, 2017, Madonna sang "La Isla Bonita" on Leonardo DiCaprio's annual fundraising gala in Saint-Tropez, France.

A guitar cha-cha-chá mashup of "La Isla Bonita" and a song titled "Welcome to My Fado Club" was performed on the singer's Madame X Tour. The stage was set up as a Lisbon nightclub, and Madonna changed the lyrics to "my Portuguese lullaby". At one point, she took off one of her gloves and said, "this is as X-rated as it's gonna get tonight". For the Los Angeles Daily News, Kelli Skye Fadroski opined that Madonna "soared" through the number. On October 9, 2021, following the release of the Madame X concert film, Madonna gave an "intimate cabaret performance" in the basement of Marcus Samuelsson's Harlem restaurant Red Rooster, and sang lounge renditions of "La Isla Bonita", Madame X album tracks "Dark Ballet" and "Crazy" (2019), and Cape Verdean coladeira song "Sodade"; she was dressed in a black cocktail dress with a "dramatic leg slit", lace gloves, and long blonde wig. "La Isla Bonita" was then included on Madonna's Celebration Tour, where it was mashed up with "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (1996); her son David Banda played guitar as she sang. Reviewing the opening night at London, Variety's Mark Sutherland highlighted the number's "sheer, irresistible pizazz". According to Sasha Kasiuha, the content director for the tour, the singer opted for the use of artificial intelligence, with a New York-based startup company Runway, to create text-to-video visuals.

Usage and covers
Between 1986 and 1987, Madonna signed a $3-million deal with Mitsubishi Motors; as part of this deal, she made a TV commercial dancing to "La Isla Bonita". In 1986, before the song was officially released as a single, Dutch singer Micaela released a cover, which peaked at number 25 in the Netherlands. In July 1987, a cover by Mexican singer Byanka reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. In 1999, "La Isla Bonita" was sampled by Chilean singer Deetah on "El Paraiso Rico", a track from her album Deadly Cha Cha.

American rapper Black Rob's song "Spanish Fly", included on his album Life Story (2000), features Jennifer Lopez singing a chorus based on "La Isla Bonita". In 2004, American actor David Hasselhoff included a rendition of "La Isla Bonita" on his album Sings America, which was criticized for being "decidedly karaoke" by the BBC's Jake Jakeman. That same year, American rapper Mase sampled the song's hook for his own "My Harlem Lullaby", found on the album Welcome Back. In 2008, French singer Alizée posted a cover of the song on her official MySpace page. A studio version was then included on the Mexican Tour Edition of her third studio album, Psychédélices, and became a top ten airplay hit in Mexico. On his review of a concert Alizée offered in Mexico City, Arturo Cruz Bárcenas from La Jornada was not impressed with the cover: "[She] dreams of being like Madonna [...] but [her rendition of 'La Isla Bonita'] only shows how far she is from that goal".

In 2010, American blogger Perez Hilton released "Gagalupe", a parody of "La Isla Bonita" with lyrics that mock Madonna's "New Age beliefs". The next year, "Love 2 Love U", an unreleased song by American singer Britney Spears that heavily sampled "La Isla Bonita", leaked online. It was described as having a "Jamaican-dance rhythm" by the staff of Los 40, who also noted that the melody and structure is the same as "La Isla Bonita". Aired in February 2012, the twelfth episode of the third season of American television series Glee, "The Spanish Teacher", had guest star Ricky Martin singing the song with actress Naya Rivera, who played the character Santana Lopez. From Digital Spy, Catriona Wightman highlighted the "stonking" performance. This cover peaked at number 99 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 93 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. American band Deerhoof named their thirteenth studio album (2014) after the song; band member Greg Saunier explained the album was a homage to Madonna and Janet Jackson, describing it as the band's "rawest, punkiest" work since their 1997 debut. "Mamacita", a 2020 song by American group Black Eyed Peas and Puerto Rican singer Ozuna, samples "La Isla Bonita". According to producer Johnny Goldstein, it was will.i.am's idea to sample the song.

Track listing and formats

 * US 7-inch single
 * 1) "La Isla Bonita" – 4:03
 * 2) "La Isla Bonita" (instrumental remix) – 4:20


 * UK 7-inch single
 * 1) "La Isla Bonita" (7-inch remix) – 4:01
 * 2) "La Isla Bonita" (instrumental remix) – 4:20


 * US and German 12-inch maxi-single
 * 1) "La Isla Bonita" (extended remix) – 5:28
 * 2) "La Isla Bonita" (instrumental) – 5:14


 * Digital single (2023)
 * 1) "La Isla Bonita" – 4:05
 * 2) "La Isla Bonita" (remix edit) – 4:06
 * 3) "La Isla Bonita" (extended remix) – 5:33
 * 4) "La Isla Bonita" (instrumental extended remix) – 5:23


 * 1992 Australian and Japanese CD Super Mix; 2019 Record Store Day exclusive green vinyl
 * 1) "La Isla Bonita" (extended remix) – 5:28
 * 2) "Open Your Heart" (extended version) – 10:38
 * 3) "Gambler" – 3:58
 * 4) "Crazy for You" – 4:12
 * 5) "La Isla Bonita" (instrumental) – 5:21

Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the True Blue album and 12-inch single liner notes.
 * Madonna – songwriter, producer, vocals
 * Bruce Gaitsch – guitar (Spanish and acoustic guitar), songwriter
 * Patrick Leonard – drum programming, keyboard, songwriter, producer
 * Jonathan Moffett – drums
 * Paulinho da Costa – percussion
 * Siedah Garrett, Edie Lehmann – background vocals
 * Michael Verdick – audio mixing, engineer
 * Herb Ritts – photography
 * Jeri McManus – design