288: Crossing the river - 20 years of "Al otro lado del rio"

Twenty years ago, “Al otro lado del río" became the first Spanish-language song to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Written by Jorge Drexler in a single day while staying in Madison, Wisconsin, and recorded in a mix of home and studio settings, the song’s journey was as unexpected as its lyrics suggested.

At the time, it felt like an anomaly. This year, when “El Mal” from Amelia Perez won the same award, it barely registered as unusual. That alone says something about how much can shift in 20 years—culturally, personally, globally.

Here we revisit that historic night through conversations with Jorge Drexler, Ana Laan, Amanda Sidran, Ben Sidran, and the song’s co-producer: me. From the song’s humble origins, its Oscar nomination, and the moment when Drexler—barred from performing his own song during the ceremony—made a quiet but profound statement by singing his acceptance speech a cappella.

But this episode isn’t just about the song. It’s about the river crossings—literal and metaphorical—that define our lives. It’s about memory, and how we revise and re-tell our stories over time. It’s about fate, timing, music, and how small decisions can ripple outward in ways we could never expect.

It also looks at the aftermath: how the win transformed Drexler’s career, leading to 15 Latin Grammys and three Song of the Year awards by 2024, and how it marked a turning point for me, prompting me to move to New York and ultimately leading to the creation of The Third Story podcast.

But even in retelling the story, memory plays tricks—Jorge and I recall that night differently, highlighting a key theme of The Third Story: within every version of events, the truth always lies in the spaces between. This episode is an exploration of music, memory, and history—how a single event can reshape multiple lives in different ways.

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