"Santeria" is a ballad[5] by American ska punk band Sublime, released on their third album Sublime (1996). 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 regarded as the band's signature songs.
The song includes the bassline and guitar riff from Sublime's earlier song "Lincoln Highway Dub" off the 1994 album Robbin' the Hood.[6]
The song begins with the narrator stating that he does not practice Santeria, an Afro-Cuban religion also practiced in Florida. He 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 that "he best go run and hide". The lead singer of Sublime, Bradley Nowell, refers to the man as "Sancho" and his ex-girlfriend as "Heina". 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]
Music video
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 and Nowell's widow Troy as La Heina. Lister was bitten by Lou Dog on the lip in a particular scene where he gets too close to Lou Dog's face.
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