"María" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (1995). The song was written by Ian Blake, Luis Gómez Escolar, and KC Porter, while the production was handled by Porter, Tom Vickers, and Steve Berkowitz. It was released by Sony Music Mexico as the second single from the album on November 21, 1995. A Spanish language flamenco, dance, and salsa song, it is about an attractive but dangerous woman called "María". Local DJ Pablo Flores remixed the song, turning it into an up-tempo samba tune in a house bassline. The remix version became more popular than the original one.

Ricky Martin is the fifth studio album and first English album by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released on May 11, 1999, by Columbia Records. Following the release of four Spanish-language albums, and the huge success of his fourth studio album, Vuelve (1998), Martin announced the recording of his first English language album. He worked with producers KC Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child to create the album. Musically, Ricky Martin consists of dance-pop tracks, power ballads, mid-tempo pop songs, and rock numbers. After the album's release, Martin embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour, which was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist.