Salma Hayek says she and Penélope Cruz have been waiting for Beyoncé to release country music for 20 years

It seems that Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz are both hardcore Beyoncé fans, as evidenced by their reaction to Cowboy Carter. On April 3, Hayek took to Instagram to post a series of throwback photos from the set of the 2006 film Bandidas featuring her and Penélope Cruz, in full cowboy gear.

The 57-year-old star expressed her love for Beyoncé’s new album in the caption, saying that Penélope Cruz and her had been waiting for a cowboy-themed album for 20 years.

Salma Hayek only had words of praise for Beyoncé in the caption. She wrote:

“Dear @Beyoncé, Penélope and I have been waiting 20 YEARS for this album!"

Bandidas is the only film that Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz have starred in together. The Western film, directed by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg and produced and written by Luc Besson, tells the story of two women in a late-19th-century Mexican town who become a bank robbing and crime fighting duo, going up against a ruthless enforcer terrorizing the town.

Much like their friendship on screen, Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz also share a very close bond in real life, as is evident in the pictures.

---

Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz seen sporting 18th century cowboy gear in throwback post

The carousel included photos of Hayek wearing Cowboy Carter merch and a hat, along with older photos from the sets of Bandidas. Salma Hayek also shared photos with Penélope Cruz, both dressed in 18th century period outfits, with cowboy hats, chaps and western-inspired corsets.

The duo posed next to each other in one shot, while in the next, Cruz was seen giving Hayek a piggyback ride.

The Golden Globe winner also said that the wait was worth it, tagging Cruz.

"FINALLY, it was worth it. 🤠 #CowboyCarter @penelopecruzoficial."

In the more recent pictures, wearing Cowboy Carter merch, Hayek shows off the back of the shirt which says:

"KNTRY RADIO TEXAS 100,000 WATTS OF HEALING POWER," a reference to a fictional radio station mentioned in the new album.

Several fans have expressed love for this gesture of solidarity and appreciation from Salma Hayek towards both Cruz and Beyoncé.

Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated album, Cowboy Carter, was released on March 29. The record features 27 tracks, and a number of A-list features, including Willie Nelson, Post Malone, Dolly Parton, and Miley Cyrus.

While the original tracks have been widely appreciated, the reimagined cover of Dolly Parton’s classic song Jolene, has also garnered a lot of attention on the internet.

On the release of Act II: Cowboy Carter, the Halo singer put out a statement, speaking about her vision for the project.

She said:

"The joy of creating music is that there are no rules. The more I see the world evolving the more I felt a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments, and I used very old ones. I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune. I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk. All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, snaps and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature."

She also addressed how a country album is not what was expected of her, saying:

"I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects — but it’s the best music I’ve ever made."

Salma Hayek isn’t the only star to show appreciation for Queen Bey since the new album came out. June Carter Cash's daughter Carlene welcomed Beyoncé to country music, and both Post Malone and Miley Cyrus have spoken up about how honored they were to work with her. Serena Williams too had been eagerly awaiting the release of the album.