Oye Como Va

About Oye Como Va

"Oye Como Va" is a song written by Latin jazz and mambo musician Tito Puente in 1962. Mexican-American rock group Santana's rendition further popularized the song, which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 11 on the Billboard Easy Listening survey, and number 32 on the R&B chart. The title comes from the first words, which can be translated as "Listen to how [it] goes" or "Hey, how is it going". The song has the rhythm and tempo of cha-cha-cha. It has similarities with "Chanchullo" by Israel "Cachao" López. Latin Beat Magazine wrote: "Cachao's tumbaos for his 1937 composition of 'Rareza de Melitón' (later changed to 'Chanchullo') inspired Tito Puente's signature tune 'Oye Como Va'." On the original recording of the song the voice of Santitos Colon, the Puente orchestra singer at the time, can be heard in the song along with those of Puente and other orchestra musicians. Cachao can be heard playing contrabass in some of Tito Puente's live versions of "Oye Como Va". The song has had many arrangements and remakes by a number of artists in various tempi. NPR included the song in its "NPR 100: The most important American musical works of the 20th century". more »