Oye Como Va: The Recordings

When anyone thinks of Latin American music, typically, the first song that comes to mind is “Oye Como Va”. This song was originally create by Tito Puente, a jazz and mambo musician known as “The King of Latin Music.” “Oye Como Va” is considered by many to be the most played Latin tune in the world. Many different musicians have covered “Oye Como Va” such as Carlos Santana and Tito Puente Jr. The recordings from Tito Puente, Santana, and Tito Puente, Jr. have helped make Latin music well known all over the world.

The original recording of “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente was placed on his 1963 album El Rey Bravo. This particular recording of “Oye Como Va” features a particular Cuban dance characteristic known as the cha cha cha and prevalent throughout the entire piece. In addition, it features a big band, which provides mambo instrumentation, textures, and other stylistic elements. The tempo of “Oye Como Va” is slightly faster than a typical cha cha cha piece (such as “El Bodeguero”) giving it a much edgier groove. The organ and bass riffs in “Oye Como Va” provide a funky and syncopated rhythmic flair, giving it a confident sound. “Oye Como Va” is also in A minor which provides a different contrast from most cha cha chas, which are typically in a major key. Depsite the minor key, the piece still has a partylike atmosphere. The groove and singing provided by the group of male singers help give the piece its festive feel. At the time, “Oye Como Va” helped make Tito Puente’s El Rey Bravo his second best-selling album. However, it was not until Carlos Santana’s release of “Oye Como Va” that the song truly became known, shaping the future of Latin dance music and Puente’s own career.

Carlos Santana released his cover version of “Oye Como Va” in 1970 on his album titled Abraxas . There were many basic musical features that remained in Santan’s version of “Oye Como Va.” Some of these features included: the song sequence and arrangement, the key (A minor), the cha cha cha tempo, the repeated Spanish lyrical line (Oye como va mi ritmo / Bueno pa' gozar, mulata ), and the singing style provided by a group of male singers. However, there are many differences in Santana’s version when compared to Puente’s original version.

Santana and the rest of his band provide a rock-sounding edge to “Oye Como Va” which gives the song new life. Santana replaces the flute and horn riffs from Puente’s version and adds electric guitar in their place. Santana provides rock and blues-inpsired guitar riffs that help give “Oye Como Va” a new sound. The drumming also has a more rock sound, providing an embellishment on the cha cha cha rhythm. There is also a Hammond B-3 electronic organ that provides blues and rock sounds that give a rock sound. This rock influence heard throughout “Oye Como Va” came from the San Francisco area where Santana moved to when he was 15 years old. Santana was witnessing the youth countercultural movement that would revolutionize the American cultural, societal, and political landscape in the late 1960s. He heard this movement through rock and jazz music. The sounds of American rock-n-roll and jazz helped inspire Santana to fuse these sounds with Latin music. These sounds are prevalent through Santana’s version of “Oye Como Va” and are responsible for bringing the song to a large-scale audience. This exposure helped launch Santana’s career, helping Abraxas sell millions of copies. It also helped revitalize Tito Puente’s career, helping people discover not only his music, but Latin music overall.

Tito Puente Jr. released his version of “Oye Como Va” in 1996 on his album titled Guarachando. His version of “Oye Como Va” had an even more modern sound compared to Santana’s rendition. Puente Jr. added a hybrid of modern and diverse musical styles (pop, rock, hip-hop, techno, and Latino pop) to the mambo and cha cha cha sounds of the previous “Oye Como Va” recordings to help modernize the piece. Puente Jr. includes some samples of the Santana embellishments and organ sounds heard on Santana’s recording. Later in the piece, Puente Jr. adds an off-beat electronic hi-hat rhythm and a funky, electronic bass groove that helps bring this piece to the 1990s. Each of these recordings tells its own tale of the form of Latin American music and provides some history about the time it was recorded. The beats and new melody sang by female vocalist La India gave a rebirth to “Oye Como Va.” It did not have a large-scale effect like Santana’s rendition. However, it introduced Tito Puente’s work to a younger audience.

Each of these recordings helped bring attention to Latin dance music. Without these recordings, Latin music would be as well known as it is today. These pieces helped define the interrelationships between the United States, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. These cultural relationships helped certain Latin dance music styles such as the cha cha cha and mambo get noticed by other parts of the world. It also introduced music to many different styles such as Latin pop and Latin rap. These characteristics are what make “Oye Como Va” come to mind when anyone thinks of Latin American music.