Próxima Estación: Esperanza

Próxima Estación: Esperanza (English: Next Stop: Hope) is the second solo album by Manu Chao. The album was released in Europe in 2001. It was released in the United States on 5 June 2001 on Virgin Records.

Próxima Estación: Esperanza
Studio album by Manu Chao
Released	5 June 2001 (US)
Length	45:33
Language	Arabic English French Galician Brazilian Portuguese Spanish
Label	Virgin
Producer	Renaud Letang
Manu Chao chronology
Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
DownBeat	^[2]
Pitchfork	7.7/10^[3]
Q	^[4]
Rolling Stone	^[5]
Spin	8/10^[6]
Uncut	^[7]
The Village Voice	A^[8]

Background

The album title comes from a sample of an announcement for the Esperanza station of Madrid Metro's Line 4; in Spanish "esperanza" means "hope". Another Line 4 station, named Avenida de la Paz (literally "Peace Avenue") is also mentioned several times on the album, but the two stations are actually several blocks apart, and the sample used by Chao actually consists of two separate announcements pasted together. The voice actor Javier Dotú and a Metro announcer later sued for infringement of intellectual property rights over the use of their voices.^[9]

Music and lyrics

Chao and others sing in Arabic, English, French, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish on this album. The backing track to "Homens", a tight rap about various kinds of men, written and performed by Brazilian journalist (and Chao's friend) Valeria dos Santos Costa, is identical to the backing track for "Bongo Bong", Chao's successful single from four years earlier; however, in the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD Babylonia en Guagua), Chao stated that "Homens" was the song for which the well-known backing track was originally recorded. The final song on the album, "Infinita Tristeza", does not contain any vocals by Chao, but it consists of the same backing track as "Me Gustas Tú", over which several samples and soundbites are layered; most of them come from a cartoon-based TV documentary film about pregnancy and childbirth, produced in 1977 by TVE and aimed at children.^[10] A number of voice samples from the documentary are looped and repeated throughout the track in Chao's typical fragmented style.

Reception and legacy

Próxima Estación: Esperanza received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance.^[11] In 2010 Esperanza was listed at #65 in Rolling Stone's "Best Albums of the Decade."^[12] In 2012, the magazine listed it at No. 474 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,^[13] saying "this gem gave Americans a taste of [Chao's] wild-ass greatness. Chao rocks an acoustic guitar over horns and beat-boxes while rambling multilingually about crucial topics from politics to pot."^[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Manu Chao, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Language	Length
1.	"Merry Blues"		English	3:36
2.	"Bixo"		Galician	1:52
3.	"El Dorado 1997"	Chao, François Meslouhi, Tito Velez	Portuguese	1:29
4.	"Promiscuity"		English	1:36
5.	"La Primavera"		Spanish	1:52
6.	"Me Gustas Tú"		Spanish French	4:00
7.	"Denia"		Arabic	4:39
8.	"Mi Vida"		Spanish	2:32
9.	"Trapped by Love"		English	1:54
10.	"Le Rendez-Vous"		English French	1:56
11.	"Mr. Bobby"		English	3:49
12.	"Papito"		Spanish	2:51
13.	"La Chinita"		Spanish	1:33
14.	"La Marea"		Mexican Spanish	2:16
15.	"Homens"	Chao, Valeria dos Santos Costa	Brazilian Portuguese	3:18
16.	"La Vacaloca"		Spanish	2:23
17.	"Infinita Tristeza"		Spanish	3:56

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[15] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[16] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[17] 1 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[18] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[19] 3 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[20] 10 French Albums (SNEP)^[21] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[22] 4 Italian Albums (FIMI)^[23] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[24] 4 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[25] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[26] 6 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[27] 1 US Top Latin Albums (Billboard)^[28] 8

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Próxima Estación: Esperanza Chart (2001) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[29] 46 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[30] 24 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[31] 16 Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)^[32] 162 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[33] 46 French Albums (SNEP)^[34] 4 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[35] 35 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[36] 35 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[37] 3 Chart (2002) Position French Albums (SNEP)^[38] 113

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)^[39]	Platinum	40,000^^
Belgium (BEA)^[40]	Platinum	50,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)^[41]	Gold	50,000^^
France (SNEP)^[42]	3× Platinum	900,000^*
Greece (IFPI Greece)^[43]	Gold	15,000
Italy (FIMI)^[44]	Platinum	100,000^*
Netherlands (NVPI)^[45]	Gold	40,000^^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[46]	2× Platinum	200,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[47]	3× Platinum	120,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)^[48]	Silver	60,000^^
United States (RIAA)^[49]	Platinum (Latin)	100,000^^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)^[50]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^*
Worldwide	—	3,000,000^[51]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of best-selling Latin albums

References

1. Moreno de la Fuente, Alberto. "Proxima Estacion: Esperanza – Manu Chao". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
2. "Manu Chao: Próxima Estación: Esperanza". DownBeat. Vol. 68, no. 10. October 2001. pp. 70–71.
3. Tangari, Joe (30 July 2008). "Manu Chao: Estacion Proxima: Esperanza / Radio Bemba Sound System". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
4. "Manu Chao: Próxima Estación: Esperanza". Q. No. 364. October 2016. p. 103.
5. Hunter, James (2 August 2001). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 May 2003.
6. Kun, Josh (August 2001). "Manu Chao: Próxima Estación: Esperanza". Spin. Vol. 17, no. 8. pp. 133–134. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
7. "Manu Chao: Próxima Estación: Esperanza". Uncut. No. 52. September 2001. p. 88.
8. Christgau, Robert (16 October 2001). "Consumer Guide: Unpatriotic?! Moi?". The Village Voice. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
9. EFE (18 November 2002). "Un actor y una locutora del Metro demandan a Manu Chao por derechos de propiedad intelectual". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 November 2007.
10. Mentioned within the liner notes in the CD booklet.
11. "List of Nominees". Los Angeles Times. 5 January 2002. p. 3. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
12. "Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. Album of The Year. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
13. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
14. "Special Collectors Issue: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2012. ISBN 978-7-09-893419-6.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
16. "Ultratop.be – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
17. "Ultratop.be – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
18. "Danishcharts.dk – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
20. "Manu Chao: ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
21. "Lescharts.com – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – {{{artist}}} – {{{album}}}" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
23. "Italiancharts.com – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
25. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
26. "Swedishcharts.com – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
27. "Swisscharts.com – Manu Chao – ...Proxima estacion... Esperanza". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
28. "Manu Chao Chart History (Top Latin Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
29. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2001". Austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 12 August 2020.
30. "Jaaroverzichten 2001". Ultratop. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
31. "Rapports Annuels 2001" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
32. . Jam!. Archived from the original on 6 November 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
33. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2001". Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2020.
34. "Top Albums: 2001" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
35. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
36. "Årslista Album – År 2001" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
37. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001". Hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 12 August 2020.
38. "Top Albums: 2002" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
39. "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
40. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2001". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
41. "Canadian album certifications – Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion". Music Canada.
42. "French album certifications – Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
43. (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 6 October 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
44. "Manu Chao – Próxima Estación: Esperanza" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 24. 9 June 2001. p. 24.
45. "Dutch album certifications – Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Proxima Estacion in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2001 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
46. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 958. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Proxima Estacion')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
48. "British album certifications – Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Proxima Estacion in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
49. "American album certifications – Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion". Recording Industry Association of America.
50. . International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
51. Culshaw, Peter (13 September 2007). "10 reasons why Manu Chao is global pop's most important star". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2018.