Para Los Rumberos

Album: Santana III (1971)
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Songfacts®:

  • Santana had a hit in 1970 with "Oye Como Va," a cover of a Tito Puente song released on their second album, Abraxas. In 1971, they did another Puente cover: "Para Los Rumberos," providing a dance number to close out their third album. In Santana's adaptation, guitarist Carlos Santana and percussionists Jose "Chepito" Areas and Mike Carabello are mentioned in this song, as they basically provided the rhythm section.
  • The jazz player Luis Gasca played trumpet on this track. Santana III was the first Santana album with horns; the Tower of Power horn section played on Everybody's Everything.

Comments: 2

  • Filip from Warszawa, PolandBTW. Luis Gasca features beautifully (yet is not credited) on "Guajira", off the same album. As for "Para los rumberos" (or, "Pa' los rumberos", as it had been originally entitled), the song was first released in 1956 by Tito Puente on the "Cuban Carnival" album. Hence the Santana version. But - as it happens - the latter proved to be a sucess which made Puente envious, so he returned to his old tune and released it once again, re-arranged and up-tempoed (much in the Santana vein), in 1972 on his "Para los Rumberos" album.
  • Oscar from Socal, CaIt wasn't this song that Tower of Power played on, it was "Everybody's Everything" (off the same album). Jazz trumpeter Luis Gasca that played on this cut.
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