"Oye Como Va" is a 1962 cha-cha-chá by Tito Puente, originally released on El Rey Bravo. The song achieved worldwide popularity in 1970, when it was recorded by Mexican-American rock group Santana for their album Abraxas. This version was released as a single in 1971, reaching number 13 on the BillboardHot 100, number 11 on the Billboard Easy Listening survey, and number 32 on the R&B chart. The block chordostinato pattern that repeats throughout the song was most likely borrowed by Puente from Cachao's 1957 mambo "Chanchullo", which was recorded by Puente in 1959. The song has been praised by critics and induced into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Grammy Hall of Fame 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...". The song was arranged as a cha-cha-chá with a repeated piano tumbaoconsisting ofblock chords and a vocal refrain sung by a chorus, typical of cha-cha-chá. The song's introduction and piano vamp are highly similar to the 1957 mambo "Chanchullo" by Israel "Cachao" López. According to Max Salazar, it is likely that Puente was inspired by Cachao's tune when composing "Oye cómo va", given the clear similarities. In fact, Puente recorded the song in 1959 for his album Mucho cha cha. Puente himself recorded "Oye cómo va" live in many occasions, including his 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival appearance with the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble.
Santana version
Santana's arrangement is a "driving, cranked-up version" in a new style of Latin rock, adding electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, and a rock drum kit to the instrumentation and dropping Puente's brass section. The electric guitar part takes on Puente's flute melody, and the organ provides accompaniment. There are several guitar solos and an organ solo, all of which are rooted in rock and the blues but also contain licks similar to those of the original arrangement. Tito Puente, speaking in the intro to his recording of "Oye cómo va" on the albumMambo 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 GrammyHall of Fame in 2001 and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. It was also included in the NPR 100 list, "the most important American musical works of the 20th century". Santana's recording was sampled by 2 Live Crew on the song "Mamolapenga" from their 1990 album Banned in the U.S.A..
