In 1969, Serrat released an album containing songs with texts of Antonio Machado, a well known Spanish poet of late 19th-early 20th century. This album brought him immediate fame in all Spain and Latin America though, in spite of this, his decision to sing in Spanish was still criticized in some nationalistic Catalan circles. Regarding this and other times when his choice of language (sometimes Spanish, sometimes Catalan) raised controversy on either side of the political sphere, he once explained: "I sing better in the language they forbid me."