Songfacts®:

• In "La Tortura" (English translation: "The Torture"), Shakira portrays a woman who is in pain over her cheating lover and is tired of crying over his betrayal. Alejandro Sanz, who sings on this with Shakira, plays the regretful boyfriend who wants her back, and tries to persuade her that infidelity is a forgivable offense. Both agree that this love hurts them - it's "torture." Shakira is telling him that she has cried over him too long and it would be best if they just said their goodbyes, while Alejandro won't let go and is expressing how he needs her in his life.
• The song is entirely in Spanish but crossed over to become a hit on radio and MTV. It reached #23 in the US, the highest-charting Spanish-language song since "Macarena" in 1996.
  
  In the years leading up to "La Tortura," Spanish-language pop songs were becoming increasingly popular, but mostly relegated to Spanish-speaking audiences. Many of these songs charted, just not very high. For instance, there was "No Me Dejes De Querer" by Gloria Estefan (#77 in 2000), "Fotografia" by Juanes and Nelly Furtado (#116 in 2003), and Quizas by Enrique Iglesias (#121 in 2003). "La Tortura" reached a lot of listeners who didn't speak Spanish, leading the way for artists like Karol G, Rosalia and Bad Bunny, who became mainstream superstars with most of their songs in Spanish.
  
  "La Tortura" also proved that a song teaming Latin artists could cross over. "At that time, there weren't collaborations, and they started, I dare to say it, with 'La Tortura,'" Shakira told Rolling Stone in 2024.
• "La Tortura" set the record for longest run at #1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, leading for 25 weeks in 2005. Enrique Iglesias' "Bailando" trumped Shakira's tune in October 2014 when it clocked up its 26th week at the summit.
• The Spanish-language video was the first to air on MTV without an English-language version. The clip, directed by Michael Haussman (Madonna's "Take A Bow"), shows Alejandro watching Shakira in her apartment from his new girlfriend's apartment across the street. He reflects on their relationship while Shakira grooves on the roof of her building.
• After releasing four albums in Spanish that made her a star in Latin countries (especially her native Colombia), Shakira released her first English-language album, Laundry Service, in 2001 and broke through to that audience with the hit "Whenever, Wherever."
  
  She didn't release another album until 2005, but that year, she released two, starting with Fijacion Oral Vol. 1, a Spanish-language album that includes "La Tortura." After the song completed its chart run, Shakira dropped Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, with songs in English. "Don't Bother" was the first single, reaching #42 at the end of 2005. A few months later, she released the single "Hips Don't Lie," which gets our vote for Song Of The Summer in 2006 - it was #1 for two weeks in June. That song, a collaboration with Wyclef Jean, wasn't on the original version of the album but was added as a bonus track.
• This was used on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 2014 episode "Face My Enemy."
• "La Tortura" was named Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2006 Latin Grammy Awards. The Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 album also took home the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album.
• The Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 album cover gets your attention, with Shakira holding a baby that looks like it's about to breastfeed. In a 2005 interview with Gavin Martin, she explained the significance of the album title and its cover image: "To me, it's a multi-dimensional term. It has many layers to it, and people can interpret it their own way. The biggest function is freedom to stimulate a conversation and stimulate ideas. It's a term that's very utilized in psychoanalysis but is also something that describes me as a person: I consider myself very oral. I've always given tremendous importance to the spoken word. It's funny to hear how some people associate 'oral' with 'oral sex' but we're all orally fixated - it's our window to the world from the moment we're born, since the moment we connect with our mother. On the cover of Volume 1, I'm holding a child in my arms and implying to have breastfed him. It's my godchild, my little cousin."
• Shakira toppled some barriers when she performed "La Tortura" on TV shows that didn't typically feature Spanish music, including Saturday Night Live on December 10, 2005. When she performed the song with Sanz at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, it was the first all-Spanish performance in the show's history.