Cómo Dueles en los Labios

"Cómo Dueles en los Labios" (English: "How Your Lips Hurt") is a song from Mexican band Maná's fifth studio album Sueños Líquidos (1997). The song was written by the band's frontman Fher Olvera, who handled production alongside Alex González and Benny Faccone. It was released as the fourth single from the album in 1997. An acoustic ballad with a Cuban nueva trova influence, its lyrics deal with the singer who feels empty and is kept happy with memories. The song received positive reactions from four music journalists although one review found it to be a copy of Silvio Rodríguez's music. Commercially, the song peaked at number two on the pop ballads chart in Mexico and Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States, while also topping the Latin Pop Airplay chart in the United States. A music video for the song was directed by Kiko Guerrero. The song was included on the set list for the promotional tour of the album.

"Como Dueles En Los Labios"
Single by Maná
from the album Sueños Líquidos
Released1997
StudioA&M Studios
Hollywood, California
Puerta Azul-Mobile Studio
Quinta Del Mar, Puerto Vallarta
Genre
Length4:08
LabelWEA Mexico
Songwriter(s)Fher Olvera
Producer(s)
Maná singles chronology
"Hechicera"
(1997)
"Como Dueles En Los Labios"
(1997)
"En El Muelle De San Blás"
(1998)
Music video
"Como dueles en los labios" on YouTube

Background and composition

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In 1997, Maná released their fifth studio album Sueños Líquidos, with the band's lead vocalist Fher Olvera composing most of the tracks and co-producing the record with drummer Alex González and Benny Faccone. Recording for the took place at the A&M Studio in Hollywood, California and thePuerta Azul-Mobile Studio in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico[1][2] One of the songs Olvera wrote for Sueños Líquidos was "Cómo Dueles en los Labios".[1] A "gentle" acoustic ballad with Cuban nueva trova influences featuring a flautist from Puerto Vallarta.[3][4] the song describes "the pain of emptiness where small of moments of happiness are now the only companions".[5] Gonzalez explained: "It's a ballad, but it has these Peter Gabriel drum machines in the background. But it has melody and orchestra string music."[6]

Promotion and reception

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"Cómo Dueles en los Labios" was released as the fourth single from the album in 1997 by WEA Mexico.[7][8] Its music video was directed by Kiko Guerrero.[7] The video features black-and-white scenes of Olvera and a woman separately on a couch in a white sheet.[9] The song was later included on their compilation album Esenciales: Luna (2003).[10] It was on the set list for the promotional tour of the album.[11] The video was listed on "Maná's Music Video Evolution" by Billboard which an editor commented: "Who said rock was just about having fun? Mana showed that other feelings – like spite – are also important."[12] Achy Obejas of the Chicago Tribune praised it as "simply beautiful".[13] Mischa Field wrote for the Brattleboro Reformer that the track when combined flute, "the sweet stuff is positively on fire".[14] The Miami Herald critic Leila Cobo called it a "gem of a song set to a simple, rising guitar accompaniment",[15] while Ramilo Burr of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram referred to it as a "lovely, acoustic song".[5] El Norte editor Deborah Davis was less impressed as she felt the record lacked inspirations and claimed that Maná was copying Silvio Rodríguez's music on "Cómo Dueles en los Labios".[16]

Commercially, the track reached number two on the pop ballads chart in Mexico and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the US.[17][18] It topped the Latin Pop Airplay chart in the US where it spent a single week on this position.[19]

Charts

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Chart performance for "Cómo Dueles en los Labios"
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Mexico ballad/pop (Notimex)[17] 2
US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)[18] 2
US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard)[20] 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Carlson, Dean. "Sueños Liquidos – Maná | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  2. ^ Lannert, John (18 October 1997). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 42. Nielsen Business Media. p. 79. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  3. ^ Torres, Richard (7 December 1997). "Entertaining Latin-Rock Fusions". Newsday. p. D29.
  4. ^ Camarena, Ricardo (16 October 1997). "La liquidez de Mana: Dos de los integrantes del grupo estuvieron en Los Angeles para promover la edicion, el martes, de 'Suenos liquidos'". La Opinión (in Spanish). p. 1D.
  5. ^ a b Burr, Ramiro (19 November 1997). "Maná Crowns Itself as Rock en Español Kingpin". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 7. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. ^ Mayhew, Don (28 August 1998). "Maná: Seeking Fans of All Ethnicities". Fresno Bee. p. E6. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Maná no le teme a la censura". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 28 June 1998. p. 67. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. ^ Cómo Dueles en los Labios (CD single liner notes). Maná. Mexico: WEA Mexico. 1997. CPCD 1144.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Maná – Como dueles en los labios. YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  10. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Esencials: Luna – Maná | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Maná arranca gira". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 29 March 1998. p. 69. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Hispanic Heritage Month: Maná's Music Video Evolution". Billboard. 26 September 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  13. ^ Obejas, Achy (28 November 1997). "Mana – Suenos Liquidos (WEA/Latina)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  14. ^ Field, Mischa (30 July 1998). "Hot Latin Beats Boost the Summer Heat". Brattleboro Reformer. p. 8. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  15. ^ Cobo, Leila (18 September 1998). "Mexican Band's Crossover Success is No Mystery". Miami Herald. p. 23G. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  16. ^ Davis, Deborah (26 October 1997). "Mana: Seca inspiracion". El Norte (in Spanish). p. 28.
  17. ^ a b "Vicente Fernández ocupa los primeros lugares del género ranchero-grupero". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 30 August 1998. p. 123. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Mana Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  19. ^ "Latin Pop Songs – 1998 Archive". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Mana Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 October 2012.