La Isla Bonita

"La Isla Bonita" means "The Beautiful Island" in Spanish. In the song, Madonna sings about the beautiful island of San Pedro, where she longs to be. San Pedro is not a real island. In a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna said, "I don't know where that came from. I don't know where San Pedro is. At that point, I wasn't a person who went on holidays to beautiful islands. I may have been on the way to the studio and seen an exit ramp for San Pedro." It's not the only hit song named after a made-up place: "China Grove" and "Kokomo" are others.

This song provided yet another look and sound for Madonna, as it has a Latin theme. In an interview with the New York Times, she called the song, "A tribute to the beauty and mystery of Latin American people."

The song was written by producer Patrick Leonard and guitarist Bruce Gaitsch. Leonard offered it to Michael Jackson, but Jackson claimed he didn't like the title and turned down the song. Leonard then offered it to Madonna, who rewrote some of the lyrics in her style. Leonard worked with Madonna on many of her other hits including: "Live To Tell," "Who's That Girl," "The Look Of Love," "Like A Prayer," "Cherish," "Oh, Father," "Frozen" and "Nothing Really Matters." Leonard produced the song with Madonna, played keyboards on the track and did the drum programing. Bruce Gaitsch played the guitars, both Spanish and acoustic.