La Bicicleta
La Bicicleta (The Bicycle) is a song by Colombian singers Carlos Vives and Shakira, released on May 27, 2016. It blends vallenato, pop and reggaeton, using traditional Colombian wind instruments and accordions to create a bright, catchy sound that represents their homeland. The lyrics tell a nostalgic story of riding bikes along the coast to their hometowns, Santa Marta and Barranquilla, sharing memories and friendship.
The track was the lead single from Vives’s album Vives and later appeared on Shakira’s album El Dorado. It marked Shakira’s first collaboration with another Colombian artist. The song was written by Carlos Vives, Shakira and Andrés Castro, and produced by Vives, Shakira, Castro and Luis Fernando Ochoa.
critics praised its catchiness and its celebration of Colombian culture. It performed well on Latin music charts in the United States and around the world. La Bicicleta won two Latin Grammy Awards in 2016 (Song of the Year and Record of the Year) and two Premio Lo Nuestro awards in 2017 (Single of the Year and Tropical Song of the Year). Billboard later named it one of the essential Latin songs of the 2010s.
The music video, directed by Jaume de Laiguana, was filmed in Barranquilla and Santa Marta and shows the pair biking along Colombia’s Caribbean coast, visiting familiar places and dancing with locals. It won Video of the Year at Premio Lo Nuestro 2017 and has more than 1.7 billion views on YouTube as of 2025.
A remix featuring Maluma was released in August 2016, adding new verses and a more urban feel.
La Bicicleta helped introduce Shakira and Vives’s collaboration and remains a popular example of modern Colombian music fusion.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:05 (CET).