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This Day in Pop Culture

This Day in Pop Culture for August 3

What an odd day! The “Macarena” dance craze was born and the Santa Claus Land theme park opened.

August 3, 2020

2–3 minutes

1996: The “Macarena” Dance Craze was Born

The original Los Del Rio recording of “Macarena” was a hit in Latin America but would not have gained much attention in North America if it weren’t for John Caride, a DJ at a Miami radio station who asked the station manager if they could add the song to their playlist. He was told no as the station did not play songs sung exclusively in Spanish.

With the help of producers Carols De Yarza and Mike Triay, the song was recorded with English-language verses and remixed to make it more dance “club-friendly.” The new version, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” was soon played at wedding receptions everywhere. The song became a #1 hit on this day in 1996 and stayed in the Billboard Hot 100 for 60 weeks.

The Macarena dance was crazy popular. The above photo is of a U.S. Army sergeant who is seen teaching the Macarena to an Iraqi army soldier during a break from a cordon and search mission in Ameriyah, Iraq in 2007. (Image: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisha Dawkins)

1941: Santa Claus Land Opens

In 1941, Louis J. Koch visited the town of Santa Claus in Indiana. He found it sad that some children would visit this town eager to meet Santa only to find that he was not there. This fueled his desire to create a Santa Claus Land park where kids could see Santa any time of the year. Due to World War II, construction didn’t begin until August 1945.

The park opened on this day in 1946 with free admission, a toy shop, toy displays, a restaurant, a few rides and of course the jolly old elf himself. Later, a deer farm was added.

In 1955, a new section, Pleasureland (now known as Rudolph’s Reindeer Ranch) was added. As the park grew, the focus of the park grew as well focusing on families rather than just children.

By 1984, the park added a Halloween and a Fourth of July section to the park and changed its name to Holiday World. In 1993, the Koch family added the Splashin’ Safari Water Park. In 2006, during the park’s 60th anniversary, Holiday World added a Thanksgiving section.