"La Paloma" is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by Spanish composer Sebastián Iradier (later Yradier) after he visited Cuba in 1861. Iradier may have composed "La Paloma" around 1863, just two years before he died in Spain in obscurity, never to learn how popular his song would become.

The influence of the local Cuban habanera gives the song its characteristic and distinctive rhythm. Very quickly "La Paloma" became popular in Mexico, and soon spread around the world. In many places, including Afghanistan, Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, the Philippines, Germany, Romania, Zanzibar, and Goa it gained the status of a quasi-folk song. Over the years the popularity of "La Paloma" has surged and receded periodically, but never subsided. It may be considered one of the first universal popular hits and has appealed to artists of diverse musical backgrounds.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Paloma