In 1996, Madonna starred in the film Evita, playing the titular role. For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Eva and even wrote a letter to director Alan Parker, explaining how she would be perfect for the part. After securing the role, she underwent vocal training with coach Joan Lader since Evita required the actors to sing their own parts. Lader noted that the singer "had to use her voice in a way she's never used it before. Evita is real musical theater — its operatic, in a sense. Madonna developed an upper register that she didn't know she had."[49][50] From the moment she was signed in the film, Madonna had expressed interest in recording a dance version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". According to her publicist Liz Rosenberg, "since [Madonna] didn't write the music and lyrics, she wanted her signature on that song... I think on her mind, the best way to do it was go in the studio and work up a remix".
For this, in August 1996, while still mixing the film's soundtrack, Madonna hired remixers Pablo Flores and Javier Garza. According to Flores, the singer wanted something that "would be dance but faithful to the movie and to Argentina with a latin feel". Madonna herself said she wanted the remix to have a "Latin flavor and elements of Tango music". The mix was completed in two weeks at Miami and Los Angeles. Madonna had to re-record the vocals of the track in English and Spanish, while an Argentinian bandoneon was added to the song's intro. Named the "Miami Mix", it was sent to radio stations and DJs on late December 1996 and was officially released as the soundtrack's second single on 4 February 1997. Barney Kilpatrick, VP of promotion for Warner Bros. Records, said that "the only reason this mix is being done was to accommodate Top 40 radio [...] since we have a two-disc soundtrack, we're interested in selling albums, not singles". Warner Bros wanted to create buzz for the film with the song, not the single remix. There were also talks of releasing an Evita EP, containing remixes of "Buenos Aires", "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", but it never materialized.
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