"Oye Cómo Va" is a 1962 cha-cha-chá song by

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

, originally released on ''El Rey Bravo'' ( Tico Records). The song achieved worldwide popularity when it was covered by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

group

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

for their album ''

Abraxas Abraxas (, variant form romanized: ) is a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the "Great Archon" (), the princeps of the 365 spheres (). The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the '' Holy ...

''. This version was released as a single in 1971, reaching number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening survey, and number 32 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. The

block chord A block chord is a chord or voicing built directly below the melody either on the strong beats or to create a four-part harmonized melody line in " locked-hands" rhythmic unison with the melody, as opposed to broken chords. This latter style, ...

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

pattern that repeats throughout the song was most likely borrowed by Puente from

Cachao Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo (music), mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised ...

's 1957 mambo " Chanchullo", which was recorded by Puente in 1959. The song has been praised by critics and inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001 and the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2002. Due to its multinational origins–Cuban, Puerto Rican and American–and its many versions by artists from all over the world, "Oye Cómo Va" has come to represent "the interconnectedness, hybridity and transnationality" of Latin music in the United States.

Original version

"Oye Cómo Va" was written and recorded by Tito Puente and his orchestra in 1962 for Tico Records. The name of the song is taken from its refrain: "''Oye cómo va, mi ritmo...''" (Listen how it goes, my rhythm). The song was arranged as a cha-cha-chá with a repeated piano ''tumbao'' consisting of

s and a vocal refrain sung by a chorus, typical of cha-cha-chá. The song's introduction and piano vamp which are highly similar to the 1957

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

" Chanchullo" by

Israel "Cachao" López Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions). ...

. According to Max Salazar, it is likely that Puente was inspired by Cachao's tune when composing "Oye Cómo Va", given the clear similarities.Salazar, Max.
Orestes Lopez, brother to Israel Lopez Cachao, and the mambo
, ''Latin Beat Magazine''. September 2002. In fact, Puente recorded the song in 1959 for his album ''Mucho cha cha'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

). The second section of the song resembles the introduction to "Te Enseñaré", written by Sergio Calzado and recorded by Estrellas Cubanas in 1960. Sergio Calzado's brother, Rudy, is the lead singer in Puente's recording. Puente himself recorded "Oye Cómo Va" live on many occasions, including his 1980

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

appearance with the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble. The lineup in the original recording was the following: *Tito Puente: timbales, chorus, leader *Jimmy Frisaura: trumpet *Pedro "Puchi" Boulong: trumpet *Pat Russo: trumpet * Barry Rogers: trombone *Shep Pullman: baritone saxophone *Rafael "Tata" Palau: tenor saxophone *Jesús Caunedo: tenor saxophone *Al Abreu: tenor saxophone *Pete Fanelli: alto saxophone *

Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco became a leading figure in the New ...

: flute *Gil López: piano *Pupi Legarreta: violin *Bobby Rodríguez: bass *Juan "Papi" Cadavieco: congas * José Mangual Sr.: bongos *

Santos Colón Ángel Santos Vega Colon (November 1, 1922 – February 21, 1998), aka Santitos Colón, was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican bolero and Mambo (music), mambo singer, born in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico and raised in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüe ...

: vocals *Rudy Calzado: vocals *Yayo el Indio: chorus *Chirivico Dávila: chorus

Santana version

Santana's arrangement is a "driving, cranked-up version" in a new style of

Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

, adding

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

organ, and a

drum kit A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one p ...

to the instrumentation and dropping Puente's

brass section The brass section of the orchestra, concert band, and jazz ensemble consist of brass instruments, and is one of the main sections in all three ensembles. The British brass band, British-style brass band contains only brass and percussion instrume ...

. The electric guitar part takes on Puente's

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

melody, and the organ provides accompaniment (with organist

Gregg Rolie Gregg Alan Rolie (born June 17, 1947) is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana (band), Santana and Journey (band), Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group The ...

's discreet use of the

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

effect). There are several guitar solos and an organ solo, all of which are rooted in rock and the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

but also contain licks similar to those of the original arrangement.

, speaking in the intro to his recording of "Oye Cómo Va" on the album ''Mambo Birdland'', said "Everybody's heard of Santana. Santana! Beautiful Santana! He put our music, Latin rock, around the world, man! And I'd like to thank him publicly 'cause he recorded a tune and he gave me credit as the composer of the tune. So, since that day... all we play... is Santana music!" The version of the song on ''Mambo Birdland'' is a Santana-sized version. When interviewed, Puente explained how he was initially outraged by his song being covered by a rock band, until he received his first royalty check. Santana's version was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001 and the

in 2002. It was also included in the

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

100 list, "the most important American musical works of the 20th century". In 2021, it was ranked No. 479 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

". Santana's recording was sampled by

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, formed in 1984. The group was originally composed of DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Fresh Kid Ice (Christopher Wong Won), and Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot), though its most well-known lineup ...

on the song "Mamolapenga" from their 1990 album '' Banned in the U.S.A.''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

The song has been covered by various musical artists, in both Latin and Jazz styles.

DJ Remixes

The song has been remixed by DJs as well. Two remixes charted in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. A remix of Tito Puente Jr & The Latin Rhythm's 1996 version of the song reached #36 in the UK charts. A second remix, released in 1997, peaked at #56.

In Popular Culture

The

Peter Griffin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. ( né Justin Peter Griffin) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, a ...

version, from

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

, was part of “Pete’s Headphones” on Season 17 Episode 15 “No Giggity, No Doubt”. A full rendition was performed by the character Gil Godwyn, played by American actor

Brent Spiner Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (19871994), four subsequent films (19942002), and '' Star Trek: Picard'' ( ...

, backed by a 9 piece jazz band, in the 1997 film Out to Sea.

References

{{Authority control 1962 songs 1971 singles Cha-cha-cha Salsa songs Santana (band) songs Julio Iglesias songs Celia Cruz songs Songs in Spanish Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Latin Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients RCA Records singles CBS Records singles