| "Persiana Americana" | |
|---|---|
 Spanish single cover | |
| Single by Soda Stereo | |
| from the album Signos | |
| Released | 10 November 1986 (1986-11-10) or 3 November 1986 (1986-11-03) |
| Studio | Moebio Studios, Buenos Aires |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:54 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter | Cerati–Daffunchio |
| Producer | Mariano López |
Persiana Americana (transl. American Curtain) is a song by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo that was released as a single and as the first track of the B side in their 1986 album Signos.
The song was composed by Gustavo Cerati along with help of film director Jorge Daffunchio. Cerati and Daffunchio met through a radio contest where the participants sent lyrics to musicians to include them in their next album. Cerati rejected the initial lyrics, as he thought they were too hard to musicalize. Daffunchio later sent Cerati more lyrics and organized meetings where they would finish Persiana Americana. Daffunchio final lyrics were made with inspiration of the films Body Double (1984) and Dressed To Kill (1980), making the song about a voyeur.
Persiana Americana was released as a single in 1987 with its B side being No Existes, other releases were made as a single sided single and as the B side to Sobredosis de TV.
American magazine Al Borde ranked it in 7th place in their list of the best 500 songs of Ibero-American rock. It was ranked 31st in Rolling Stone and MTV's Los 100 Hits del Rock Argentino from 2002.
Compositon
Persiana Americana was written by Gustavo Cerati and Jorge Daffunchio—a film director that worked in a high school—[1] making it one of two songs in Signos which lyrics were made with help outside the band members,[2] the other being En Camino.[1] A base track for the song was made around the making of Nada Personal.[1] Cerati and Daffunchio met due to a radio contest—which Cerati participated in— organized by Tom Lupo on the radio station Del Plata.[1] The contest consisted of listeners sending lyrics to various musicians who would musicalize the lyrics and include them in their next album.[3] Daffunchio sent the lyrics to Cerati for a song called Cine Negro, which Cerati liked but rejected it as he thought it was complicated to musicalize it.[2] Later, Daffunchio called Cerati to give him more songs and organized various meetings with him to make the lyrics for Persiana Americana.[1] Daffunchio's original idea for the song was about a person that was looking through the curtains waiting for someone who wouldn't arrive, Cerati rejected this idea as he wanted more romantic.[4] The final lyrics were written with inspiration by the films Body Double (1984) and Dressed to Kill (1980),[5][6] making the song about a voyeur.[7] Author Diego Giordano writes that these lyrics can be seen at the start of the song, in the lyric "Fuera de foco, Inalcanzable" (transl. Out of focus, Unreachable) which according to him is how the protagonist of the song prefers his Voyeuristic desire.[5]
Persiana Americana's length is 4:54.[8] Cultura Colectiva writes that the song features a British new wave vibe.[9] The structure of the song: verse (A), bridge (B), and chorus (C), is played twice before the instrumental entr'acte (D), which splits the song in two. The second half does not begin with a repeat of the verse, but with a third bridge.[10] The song is played in a tempo of 101 BPM, a time signature of 4
4 and with E minor as the key.[11] Giordano praises the drumming work, calling it essential to the mix.[5]
Live performances
In 1987, while performing the song in the nightclub Highland Road, a balcony above the bar collapsed, killing five people and injuring a hundred. This happened due to the construction of the place. Musician and mime artist Manuel Wirzt, who was at the event, would later compose the song Nadie Sabía (transl. Nobody Knew) which lyrics reference the event.[12]
Release and reception
Persiana Americana was released as the first track of the B side and the fifth track in Signos, which was released on 10 November 1986[8] or in the 3rd.[13] It was also released as a single in 1987, with the B side being No Existes.[14] Other releases were made as a single sided single,[15] and as the B side to Sobredosis de TV, a song from Soda Stereo's self-titled album.[16]
American magazine Al Borde ranked it in 7th place in their list of the best 500 songs of Ibero-American rock.[17] It was ranked 31st in Rolling Stone and MTV's Los 100 Hits del Rock Argentino from 2002.[18] Iván Adaime of AllMusic wrote in a review that songs like Persiana Americana along with Signos and Prófugos helped Soda Stereo gain the possibility of conquering wider audiences.[19] Daffunchio later said in an interview about the song that "The people turned ‘Persiana [Americana]’ into a success that no one imagined, not even Gustavo [Cerati]."[6]
Charts
| Chart (1987) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Perú (UNIMPRO)[20] | 1 |
| Ecuador (SACIN)[21] | 4 |
| Chart (2014) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| US Latin Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[22] | 30 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[23] | Gold | 30,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Fernández Bitar 2017, p. 61.
- ^ a b Fernández Bitar 2017, p. 60.
- ^ Giordano 2019, p. 76.
- ^ "Jorge Daffunchio: "Cerati me dijo escribí lo que quieras y salió Persiana Americana"". La Izquierda Diario - Red internacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Giordano 2019, p. 77.
- ^ a b "El coautor de "Persiana americana": "Ni Gustavo imaginó su éxito"". LA NACION (in Spanish). 5 September 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ Bosio 2016, p. 145.
- ^ a b Fernández Bitar 2017, p. 62.
- ^ "La historia de espionaje y destino detrás de 'Persiana Americana' de Soda Stereo - Cultura Colectiva" (in Mexican Spanish). 2 February 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ Giordano 2019, p. 78.
- ^ "Persiana Americana". Musicstax. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Fernández Bitar 2017, p. 74.
- ^ Giordano 2019, p. 60.
- ^ Persiana Americana / No Existes (Vinyl) (in Spanish). Argentina: CBS Discos Internacional. 1987.
- ^ Persiana Americana (Vinyl). Spain: CBS Discos Internacional. 1987. Archived from the original on 19 November 2025.
- ^ Sobredosis de T.V. / Persiana Americana (Vinyl) (in Spanish). CBS Discos Internacional. 1986.
- ^ "Las Primeras 100". Al Borde. 14 November 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ^ "Los 100 Hits del Rock Argentino". Rolling Stone & MTV. Argentina. 2002. ISSN 0329-5656.
- ^ Adaime, Iván (1995). "Signos". AllMusic.
- ^ "Los discos más populares en Latinoamérica". 23 March 1987.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Los éxitos en Latinoamérica". La Opinión. 11 August 1987.
- ^ "Soda Stereo Chart History (Latin Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Soda Stereo in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Persiana Americana in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
Bibliography
- Giordano, Diego (2019). Uniendo fisuras (in Spanish). Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Vademécum, La Edad de Oro. ISBN 978-987-45755-4-8.
- Fernández Bitar, Marcelo (2017). Soda Stereo: La biografía total [Soda Stereo: The Full Biography]. Sudamericana. ISBN 978-9500757706.
- Bosio, Zeta (1 May 2016). Yo conozco ese lugar [I know that place] (in Spanish). Grupo Planeta Spain. ISBN 978-950-49-5157-5.
