El Ultimo Adios (The Last Goodbye)
"El Último Adiós" is a song written by the Peruvian singer Gian Marco and Cuban American musician and producer Emílio Estefan to commemorate 9/11 attacks and support the families of the victims. The proceeds of the recording raised funds for the American Red Cross and the United Way. This version of the song was released both as a stand-alone single, and as part of a four-song special EP by the same name.
In the four minutes of the song, a variety of musical genres can be heard, and over 120 different artists were involved in the project, including internationally-renown singers Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Paulina Rubio, Thalía, Chayanne, Alejandro Sanz, José José, Ivete Sangalo, Marc Anthony, Ana Bárbara, Juan Luis Guerra and Gloria Estefan.
Personnel
;Composers/Producers- Gian Marco
- Emilio Estefan
- Ricky Martin
- Alejandro Sanz
- Thalía
- Juan Luis Guerra & Gloria Estefan
- Celia Cruz
- Juan Luis Guerra, Gloria Estefan & Olga Tañón
- Ricardo Montaner
- Ana Gabriel
- Jorge Hernández/Los Tigres del Norte & Alicia Villarreal / Grupo Límite
- Alejandro Fernández
- Carlos Vives
- Jaci Velasquez
- José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma"
- Marco Antonio Solís
- José José & Lucía Méndez
- Jennifer Lopez
- Emmanuel
- Chayanne
- Elvis Crespo, Gisselle Ortíz Cáceres & Gilberto Santa Rosa
- Paulina Rubio
- Beto Cuevas / La Ley
- Ana Bárbara
- Carlos Ponce
- Jon Secada
- Shakira
- Gian Marco
- Luis Fonsi
- Yuri & Miguel Bosé
- Wilkins, Gisselle Ortíz Cáceres Melina León & Ramiro / Limi-T 21
- Todos Unidos, Christina Aguilera Ad Libs
- José Feliciano & Alejandro Sanz
- José Feliciano
Conducted by Timothy Sharp
- A.B. Quintanilla
- Alberto "Beto" Zapata
- Álvaro Torres
- Charlie Zaa
- Ednita Nazario
- Elvis Crespo
- Emilio Regueira
- Franco De Vita
- Ivete Sangalo
- Kumbia Kings
- Luis Conte
- Luis Enrique
- MDO
- Marcos Llunas
- Mauricio Claveria
- Nestor Torres
- Nicolas Tovar
- OV7
- Patricia Manterola
- Pilar Montenegro
- Rey Ruiz
- Ricky Muñoz
- Shalim
- Soraya
- Tito Puente
- Tommy Torres
Arranged and Conducted by José Antonio Molina
- Concertmaster – Alfredo Oliva
- Violin – Bogumila Zgraja, Bruce Wethey, Carole Cole, Carole Simmons, Dale Sandvold, Denise Stillwell, Gennady Aronin, Gustavo Correa*, Huifang Chen, John DiPuccio, Mariana Carreras, Mei Mei Luo, Rafael Elvira, Rochelle Skolnick, Sania Derevianko, Scott Flavin, Tony Huang
- Viola – David Chappell, Debra Spring, Karen Hebermehl, Richard Fleischman, Scott O'Donell, Tim Barnes, Xi Yang
- Cello – Chris Glansdorp, Claudio Jaffe, David Cole, Philip Lakofsky, Ross T. Harbaugh
- Double Bass – Geoffrey Bowater
- Harp – Deborah Fleisher
- Guitar – Dan Warner
- Bass Guitar – Julio Hernandez
- Trumpet – Arturo Sandoval, Jason Carder, Teddy Mulet
- Trombone – Dana Teboe, John Kricker
- French Horn – Dwayne Dixon, Jeffrey Meyer, John David Smith
- Flute – Jeanne Tarrant, Nestor Torres
- Clarinet – David Pharris
- Oboe – Robert Weiner
- Bassoon – Luciano Magnanini, Michael Degregorio
- Piano – Michael Levine
- Keyboards – Doug Emery
- Timpani – Mark Schubert
- Percussion – Andy Garcia, Archie Peña
- Production Coordinators – Frank Amadeo, Mauricio Abaroa, Jorge A. Plasencia
- Talent Coordinators - Maria Luisa Calderon, Maria Elena Fermin, Mauricio Montenegro
- Studio Coordinator – Kevin Dillon
- Production Directors - Carlos Pulido, César Pulido
- Copyist – Eugenio Vanderhorst
- Engineers – Alfred Figueroa, Andre Rafael, Boris Milan, Eric Schilling, Franco Jordanni, Gustavo Celis, Hector I. Rosa, Isaias García Asbun, Javier Garza, Jim Monti, Joe Leal Sr., Marcelo Sabóia, Robb Williams, Roberto Ruiz
- Assistant Engineers - Jorge Gonzalez, José Rey, Juan Rosario, Javier Valverde, Charlie Vela, Ed Williams
- Mixer – Freddy Piñero, Jr
Track listing
- Single
- El Ultimo Adiós 3:58
- EP
- El Ultimo Adiós 3:58
- The Last Goodbye 3:58
- El Ultimo Adiós 3:58
- El Ultimo Adiós 3:58
Charts
Chart | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 197 |
U.S Billboard Latin Albums | 3 |
U.S Billboard Latin Pop Albums | 2 |
Live Performances
The song mainly circulated as a single to be purchased, but a few notable performances and presentations of the song include:- The national radio simulcast of the White House's Hispanic Heritage Month Event hosted by President George W. Bush on October 14, 2001
- The video of the song was aired on Univision's variety show Sábado Gigante. The show's host, Don Francisco, came up with the idea to assemble an all-star group to record a tribute album on September 13, and was instrumental in supporting the project.
- Gian Marco performed a solo acoustic version of the song in concert, prefacing the performance with "This song...was born with a guitar. And with that guitar, I will play it to you."