Independiente is the thirteenth Spanish-language studio album by Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona, released on 23 September 2011.

Recorded in the United States and Mexico, it was produced by Arjona with Dan Warner, Carlos Cabral "Junior", Lee Levin and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Tommy Torres.

"Mi Novia Se Me Está Poniendo Vieja" was released in May 2012; "Te Quiero" in July 2012, and "Si Tu No Existieras" in November 2012.

Arjona produced the album with Dan Warner, who has worked with Shakira, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera.

[6] The company is presided by Arjona and several friends (including photographer-director Ricardo Calderón, Universal Music México executive Humberto Calderon and BMG's Miriam Sommerz), and is based in Miami and Mexico City.

[8] Billboard notes that, although other groups have released independent albums following contracts with major labels, Arjona is the most important Latin pop artist to do so.

He stated that he first "tested" Torres by sending him the "hookiest and darkest tracks" on the album: "Acompañame A Estar Solo" and "Iluso".

[12] In 5to Piso (2008), Torres produced several tracks;[13] one was the lead single "Como Duele", considered Arjona's "biggest hit in years" by Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic.

Victor Patrón produced two songs, ("Caudillo" and the piano version of "Mi Novia Se Me Está Poniendo Vieja") and Julio Chávez aided in the production of "Reconciliación".

[16] Independiente was mixed at the Blue Grotto in Nashville, Tennessee, and mastered by Tom Coyne and Aya Merrill at Sterling Sound in New York City.

[21] "Mi Novia Se Me Está Poniendo Vieja" took two years to complete[22] and Arjona dedicated it to his mother, Noemí Morales.

[23] He stated that he wrote it "as a gift for my mom on Mother's Day" and that he thought "the idea of including it on the album was very good".

[23] "Caudillo" evokes "the image of some friends" Arjona had at college; he asserted that he "appears constantly there because sometimes we transform ourselves into a contradiction of all those things we fought in those moments.

[9] On 30 September, the digital download for the standard edition of the album was released in several Latin American and European countries.

The special featured guest appearances by Gaby Moreno, Ricky Muñoz (of the Mexican band Intocable) and Paquita la del Barrio.

Muñoz said that he was "happy to do things for Ricardo [Arjona]", elaborating that they met each other "some time ago" and it was "a very special situation".

It was also a hit in Latin America, reaching number one in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala.

[43][44] The song was used by American telecommunications corporation AT&T for a Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone commercial featuring Arjona[45] and was released in music stores in May 2012.

The music video for the song was filmed during Arjona's concerts at Vélez Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina during his Metamorfosis World Tour.

[50][51] "Si Tu No Existieras" was released in November 2012 as the set's fifth and final single, and was intended to promote the re-release of the album.

Fellow Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno appeared in several performances, joining Arjona for "Fuiste Tú".

[54] Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that "Arjona is one of Latin pop’s finest lyricists: observant, nuanced, sometimes wry, sometimes melancholy and especially fond of the play of opposites".

In Buenos Aires it was the most popular show at José Amalfitani Stadium, with a total attendance of more than 160,000 for four consecutive sold-out concerts.

[56] In Guatemala City Arjona was the first artist with two consecutive sold-out concerts at Mateo Flores Stadium, with a combined attendance of more than 50,000.

[85] In the United States, Independiente was certified Latin platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for 100,000 copies shipped.

[89] David Jeffries of Allmusic gave the album a mildly positive review, citing Arjona's return to his more mainstream style after the "stripped-down acoustic effort" Poquita Ropa.

He compared (as did Arjona and other critics) the production values and musical style of Independiente with past albums Animal Nocturno and Historias.

[1] A contributor to the Colombian website CMI commented that "listening to Independiente is a labyrinth to go through, each song is a huge path that seems to have no end, because it involves imagination, it invites you to dream, to charm, to bewitch.

[92][93] On 3 December 2012, Independiente received a nomination for "Pop Album of the Year" at the 2013 Premios Lo Nuestro awards.