Welcome to “Remember This Banger?” — a series in which we’ll periodically revisit some of Latin music’s most enduring and beloved songs. Thalía’s ‘90s hit “ Gracias a Dios ” is a Juan Gabriel-penned, ska-infused— exploration of a pop icon’s dance with saintliness and sin. Decked out in a shiny patent leather corset and blunt Velma Kelly-esque bob , Thalía in full dom mode sensuously saunters onto the screen in a dripping wet industrial warehouse set to the brassy, light ska beat of the 1996 single “Gracias a Dios.
” She straddles a blindfolded man tied to a chair, then shaves his face with a straight-edge razor, which the singer then wields to rip his shirt off, exposing his chiseled pecs. Mistress Thalía lays her cheek on her man’s chest as the soft warble of her voice expresses utter devotion. Suddenly, she sprays him with a fire hose — laws of physics don’t apply in the Thalía sex dungeon.
“Gracias a Dios” marks the fifth single from the Mexican pop icon’s fourth album, 1995’s ” En Éxtasis .” The banger, written by El Divo de Juárez , followed some of Thalía’s biggest hits, including “Piel Morena,” “Maria la del Barrio” and “Sangre,” spending five weeks on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, peaking at No. 26 and hitting No.
8 on the Latin Pop Airplay chart. It was a massive hit in Latin America, garnering radio play on stations catering to the señora market. I spent countless Sundays cleaning with t.
