"Santeria" is a ballad[5] by American ska punk band Sublime from their third, self-titled album. The song was released as a single on January 7, 1997. Although the song was released after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, "Santeria" along with "What I Got" are often considered the band's signature songs.
"Santeria" | ||||
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![]() US promotional single | ||||
Single by Sublime | ||||
from the album Sublime | ||||
Released | January 7, 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1996 | |||
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Length | 3:03 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
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Sublime singles chronology | ||||
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The song includes the bassline and guitar riff from Sublime's earlier song "Lincoln Highway Dub" off the 1994 album Robbin' the Hood.[6] Santería is an Afro-Cuban religion, practiced in Cuba, South Florida, and exported to other areas in the Caribbean.
The song tells the story of a jealous ex-boyfriend who is planning to take revenge on the man who stole his girlfriend. The man then decides to find a new girlfriend, but expresses his desire to use violence as he describes his plans to "pop a cap in Sancho" and "stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat" if he ever sees him again, and to "slap her [the original girlfriend] down." The lead singer of Sublime, Bradley Nowell, refers to the man as "Sancho" and his ex-girlfriend as "Heina".[citation needed] In Chicano culture, a man who steals another man's girlfriend is often referred to as "Sancho"[7] while a man's woman or girlfriend is referred to as "Heina", which is adapted from the word reina, meaning "queen" in Spanish.[8]
A music video was filmed after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, who makes a cameo via stock footage. During the video, his beloved Lou Dog is seen along with the other members of Sublime remembering him. The video was a visualization of the story told in the song in the form of a Western, and featured Tom Lister, Jr. as Sancho. Lister was bitten by Lou Dog on the lip in a particular scene where he gets too close to Lou Dog's face.
"Santeria" was a moderate U.S. crossover hit, cracking the Top 5 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as reaching number 43 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. [9]
The song is a playable track on the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour, and was released as a downloadable song for Rock Band 3 in 2012 as well as Rocksmith 2014 in 2014. The song was featured in the films Idle Hands, Knocked Up, Remember the Daze and This is 40.
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
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Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] | 90 |
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[11] | 43 |
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[12] | 3 |
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[13] | 38 |
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