Perfidia


"Perfidia" is a song written by Alberto Domínguez, a Mexican composer and arranger born in the state of Chiapas. The song is about love and betrayal. Aside from the original Spanish, other renditions exist, including English and instrumental versions. The English lyrics are by Milton Leeds.
The song was published in 1939 and became a hit for Xavier Cugat on the Victor label in 1940. Desi Arnaz sings the Spanish version in the 1941 film Father Takes a Wife which starred Gloria Swanson. This version was used by director Wong Kar-wai in his films Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love, and 2046.
The song may have had its roots in an early 18th-century text of Pietro Metastasio which was first set to music in 1736. This version, strangely enough, was performed at a wedding!. It was subsequently set by none other than Ludwig van Beethoven in 1801 as "Ah! Perfido", one of his few operatic efforts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ah!_perfido
In late 1960, a rock instrumental version of "Perfidia" was released by the Ventures, which rose to number 18 on the Billboard chart. The record was a Top 10 hit on a number of popular music radio stations, including KYA in San Francisco, KLIF Dallas, KOL Seattle, KDWB Minneapolis, WHK Cleveland, KIMN Denver, and KISN Portland. The record topped out at number 11 on the charts of WLS Chicago, and WIBG Philadelphia.
The Ventures version was included on The Original Hits Past & Present, Volume Two, a compilation album released by Liberty Records in 1961.
"Perfidia" has been recorded by many artists, including Laurel Aitken, John Altman, Dave Apollon, Juan Arvizu, Andrea Bocelli, Brave Combo, Wilbert Alonzo Cabrera, Ray Conniff, Café Tacuba, Chico Che, Nat King Cole, Xavier Cugat, Issac Delgado, Phyllis Dillon, Freddy Fender, Ibrahim Ferrer, Frank Galan, Benny Goodman, Irvys Juarez & Rhonda Rosales, Ben E. King, Dorothy Lamour, James Last, Julie London, Trini Lopez, Los Panchos, Los Rabanes, Los Straitjackets, Los Tres Caballeros and Javier Solís, Luis Miguel, Glenn Miller, Olivia Molina, Hugo Montenegro, VIS Limunada, Sara Montiel, Nana Mouskouri, Duke Pachanga, Lupita Palomera, Charlie Parker, María Dolores Pradera, Perez Prado, Elvira Quintana, Elvira Ríos, Bud Roman and the Toppers, Linda Ronstadt, Andy Russell, Alfredo Sadel, the Four Aces, the Shadows with and without Cliff Richard, the Ventures, Mel Tormé, René Touzet, King Tubby, Olavi Virta, Lawrence Welk, and many others.
A version by Carlos Garcia, a one-armed Mexican street performer originally from Michoacán, who makes music by blowing on the side of an ivy leaf, and recorded on a sidewalk, was featured on a CD, Sinfonia Urbana. It was overdubbed with strings by the Kronos Quartet for their 2002 album Nuevo.
An English arrangement of "Perfidia" was also the founding song of the Princeton Nassoons, Princeton University's oldest a cappella group.

In popular culture