In the review of the soundtrack, Thom Jurek from the website AllMusic commented that Shakira's song on the EP which included "not only traditional instruments but folk song structures (no pop)" give buyers "something worth paying [their] hard-earned money for". John Li from the website Moviexclusive commented that "Despedida" is "emotionally powerful", and noted that all three of Shakira's songs are "accompanied by [her] signature vocals". Elkin Lara of Caracol Radio wrote, "In 'La Despedida' Shakira once again proves her capacity of transforming herself and how she can be oped to every kind of project and music challenge". Ricardo Sandoval and Eduardo Neira, a literary and a cinema critic respectively, wrote that the song sticks out for saving the movie and "preserving the spirit of Gabriel García Márquez's novel more than the movie itself". "Despedida" received a nomination at the 65th Golden Globe Awards in the category for Best Original Song, but lost to "Guaranteed" by Eddie Vedder for the movie "Into the Wild" (2007). Additionally, the track was pre-selectioned for a nomination of an Academy Award for Best Original Song but did not manage to place itself at the 80th Academy Awards. It was also nominated for a World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film at the 2008 awards ceremony.