"Santeria" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

by American

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...

band Sublime from their third, self-titled album (1996). The song was released as a single on January 7, 1997. Although the song was released after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, "Santeria" along with " What I Got" are often considered the band's signature songs.

Composition and context

The song includes the bassline and guitar riff from Sublime's earlier song "Lincoln Highway Dub" off the 1994 album ''

Robbin' the Hood ''Robbin' the Hood'' is the second studio album by American ska punk band Sublime, released on March 1, 1994 on Skunk Records. It is noted for its experimental nature, low production values, and numerous samples and interpolations of other art ...

''. Santería is an Afro-Cuban religion, practiced in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, South Florida, and exported to other areas in the Caribbean. The song tells the story of a jealous ex-boyfriend who is planning to take revenge on the man who stole his girlfriend. The man then decides to find a new girlfriend, but expresses his desire to use violence as he describes his plans to "pop a cap in Sancho" and "stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat" if he ever sees him again, and to "slap her he original girlfrienddown." The lead singer of Sublime, Bradley Nowell, refers to the man as "Sancho" and his ex-girlfriend as "Heina". In Chicano culture, a man who steals another man's girlfriend is often referred to as "Sancho" while a man's woman or girlfriend is referred to as "Heina", which is adapted from the word ''reina'', meaning "queen" in Spanish.

Music video

A music video was filmed after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, who makes a cameo via stock footage. During the video, his beloved

Lou Dog Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996) was an American musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the ska punk band Sublime. Born and raised in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an interest in ...

is seen along with the other members of Sublime remembering him. The video was a visualization of the story told in the song in the form of a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and featured Tom Lister, Jr. as Sancho. Lister was bitten by Lou Dog on the lip in a particular scene where he gets too close to Lou Dog's face.

Commercial performance

"Santeria" was a moderate U.S. crossover hit, cracking the Top 5 on '' Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as reaching number 43 on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart.

Media usage

The song is a playable track on the 2008 video game ''

Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero IV'' or ''Guitar Hero IV: World Tour'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' ...

'', and was released as a downloadable song for ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' in 2012 as well as ''

Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game ''Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plug ...

'' in 2014. The song was featured in the films ''

Idle Hands ''Idle Hands'' is a 1999 American teen black comedy horror film directed by Rodman Flender, written by Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer, and starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, and Vivica A. Fox. The main plot follows the ...

'', ''

Knocked Up ''Knocked Up'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann. It follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between a sl ...

'', '' Remember the Daze'' and ''

This is 40 ''This Is 40'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Judd Apatow and starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. A " sort-of sequel" to Apatow's 2007 film '' Knocked Up'', the movie centers on married couple Pete (Rudd) and Debb ...

''.

Charts

Notes

External links

* {{sublimeband 1997 singles Sublime (band) songs Music videos directed by McG 1996 songs Songs written by Bradley Nowell MCA Records singles Song recordings produced by David Kahne Songs released posthumously Songs about domestic violence Santería