"Oye Como Va" Translation

[terrinyc29]

mulatta is a mixed race (black/white) girl. not "babe"

[StreinjFilms]

Sounds like hot sex :)

[knoxvilleguy2]

Had no idea that Tito Puente was the composer. I listened to Santana when I was barely out of ADOLESCENCE. Even though my parents didn't approve. I was an early rebel. ;)

[Voicedude]

Or.... (a bit loosely),

when following the same pentameter and rhyming scheme:

"Listen how it goes; the rhythm!

Enjoy the way it flows, Mulata..."

[Callmelennie]

@Voicedude I believe you nailed her .. I mean it

I think what many folks are missing is that "Oye como va" means "listen to how it goes" AND "Hey, how's it going" It's a PUN, folks

[cardinalbob1]

Thanks for the translation!!! I got into that song, and would sing along with the locals while living in S. Florida, but never knew what it meant.

[nas2809]

the slang translation (i.e. the proper one) is " hey hows it going, my rhythm is good for partying"

[Henzejose]

93 personas no lo oyeron! XD

[leetfeetman]

so can anyone answer this question.... WHO MADE THIS SONG FIRST @.@ if Carlos Santana Copied from Tito Puente copy being used loosely here, and Tito Puente copied someone else and if IF that person copied someone else... who made this song first? @.@ im getting so confused... who is the original? 100% bonafide true blue composer of this song?

[de56belp81]

very inspirational video, I loved watching it

[creolepoet]

actually the song, oye como va, was composed by cuban musician, cachao lopez, recorded by the incomparable tito puente in 1963 anf then a hit for carlos santana in 1970.

[TribeAtLargePhracass]

Wrong translation!!! When it says "oye comma va" the term actually is "listen how it goes" (not the one written of the video's scream)... and "bueno pa' gozar" actually means "good to enjoy"... Mulata (it's a term used in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other latin America countries for people that are half white & half black, in this case refers to a female. It's not in an offensive form, in the contrary,,, but sensual.

[warclassics]

I love this song and wanna listen to more music like this, does anyone know any good songs/artists I can check out?

[salvadorascencio]

@warclassics maybe something like Chicano - Viva Tirado?

[jggt1710]

Simplemente la traducción es la siguiente:

Simply the traduction is the following:

Listen how it goes / my rythm / good to enjoy / mulata

Mulata means ''person of mixed race (of a black and a white parent)

[evalll666]

Shoot!... <~I thought it meant, "Are You Listening"?... LMMFAO

Thanks for the info! (Wink!)

[tradetekpublishing]

Wow, can you imagine trying to translate the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Suck My Kiss!!! to a Spaniard?

It's best to ask Tito what a suitable translation to English would be; I've studied Spanish for many, many years and I've found that, naturally, each country has their own colloquialisms. Spanish is no different from any other language in that regard. Regardless, this is the song that, as performed by Santana, turned many an Anglo-American on to the "Latin Rhythm". It's a true classic!

[rmaccrea]

Tranquilen! In all languages music plays with the language. This song's lyrics sound cool because it can be taken BOTH ways. Oye is the command form of hear, thus meaning, "listen!" That's why they say that three times when judges enter the court. The pause between the two lines gives you one interperetation. The grammar leads you to another. The song was written by Tito Puente. It might be good to explore his culture's version of Spanish. Maybe there's even a third meaning....

[channypadrone]

Its not a song thats supposed to be completely understood haha thats why its bueno pa gosar ;)

[liv2jam]

Oye como va mi ritmo - listen up, come check out my rhythm

bueno par gozar - (it's) good to enjoy

mulata - dark skinned girl (affectionately)

[sxmadrid]

Oye como va - I think on reflection that 'hear how my rhythm goes' is nicer; less instructive, less concentration required than 'listen' - just says 'open your ears, Babe'. Great song. Next week, Compay Segundo; La Negrita Tomaza.

[0CarlosLore0]

ITS "LISTEN HOW IT GOES... MY RHYTHM" the intentions of the video are good. thanks :)

[zztopblue1]

chill

[pepecarlos777]

Sorry, the intention is good, but the translation not so. "Oye como va" is "Hear it how it goes" or "Listen how it goes," then "mi ritmo" is "my rhythm." Then "bueno pa' gozar" which is the short version of "bueno para gozar" means "good to enjoy" and finally "mulata" is the female gender result of mixing white race and black race during the colonization in Latin America (mulato would be the male gender) and in the lyrics simply means girl (of that mix). Spanish is a rich romance language.

[BruceK10032]

Exactly: Hear how it goes, my rhythm . . .

[erduropati]

Es una tontería intentar traducir literalmente una canción de un idioma a otro, puede incluso llegar a ser una traducción ridícula.

Lo que hay es que quedarse con la idea general que quiere transmitir, que en este caso es que la música transmita buen rollo (good feeling) a quien la escuche.

[mikebarham]

oye is from oir but it is always used to catch sombodys attention so the translation given is correct it means HEY

[arroligavideos]

@mikebarham If it were "hey" it wouldn't even make sense in Spanish. The song talks about rhythm which is why literally it says, "Listen how it goes, my rhythm." Of course if we want it to make sense in English we'd say, "Listen to how my rhythm goes."

[LunarMovements]

@mikebarham Sorry. I have to disagree on two points. First, oye is only SOMETIMES used to get someone's attention. Not always. That is a colloquial meaning, a kind of slang that is sometimes used informally. Second, the lyrics in this case are asking us to pay attention to "my rhythym". That indicates that the dictionary meaning of the word oye is meant, not the colloquial meaning. In this case, the correct transaltion is, "Hear how it goes, my rythym." "Hey" is simply not correct here.

[PublioCiceron]

una de las mejores canciones latinas de todos los tiempos..

[33Juliette33]

I love this music because of the Rhythm... When some woman is looking for a man, she is trying to fall in step... before she is falling in love... independently from skin colour.

[shadowsk8ter26]

omg I CAN PLAY THIS SONG :D

[grangrangran]

Well, mulata could also refer to the song itself, couldn't it? Hear how it goes, my rhythm, good to/for (whatever trans. is most appropriate), a mixed child.

I'm not all that strong on the grammatical gender of anything, but couldn't you use it like that?? Can mulata be inflected by gender (I assume so - ) but in that case, would you do so to make it match the gender of the word rhythm? Or not. I've confused myself.

Anyone? :)

[Wolfer202]

Not really, mulata just refers to a girl of brown skin, often used in mexico for any women.

It has nothing to do with rhythm.

Anyway, you cant match pumpkins with grapes... or can you??

[GuitarSoundz]

listen how it goes, my rhythm is good to enjoy(have fun), mixed woman (of heritage).

[BruceK10032]

@GuitarSoundz Yup!

[darthporkius]

"oye como va" = hear how it goes.

it is hard to make a direct translation becaus it is slang spanish.

it translates better to "hear how it sounds"

"mulata" = a mulata is the daughter of a white man and a black woman, or the other way around, a black man and a white woman.

[cocochoca]

NICE and simple!thanx (-:

[18bluesky]

good translation? bad translation? who cares abot that! come on! Santana sends the most amazing sounds ever heard in the world's music, the phrases are just to give a latin flavor to the song

[baller4681]

I'm not too sure about in Mexico, but in Puerto Rico, Central and South America,Central the rest of the spanish caribbean, and even Spain, "Mulata" means a girl of mixed European and African decent. Maybe its slang for babe in Mexico but thats not the norm.

[NICIDICIPoet]

Spanish is about how its said, more then the words being said. This will calm a lot of confusion.

[jackhincham]

Interesting That the phrase, "Oye como va" can actually mean both, "Hey, What's up?" and, "Listen to how this goes." I never thought of it before, but depending on the context, intonation, and stress, it actually could mean what Sundroid claims it does. If someone were to see you in the street and try to get your attention by shouting, "oye!" and follow it shortly after with the question, "como va?" then Sundroid's translation is appropriate. If someone is playing the guitar and says it,

[darthporkius]

it's all about contex.

[gazettewasugoi]

Listen how it goes ...My rhythm..Good to have fun ..babe ... :P

[Rodrigusificacion]

Hear how is it going, my rythm, good for "gozar" (gozar in this case is difficult to translate, it can be like "feelling cool", "feelling nice, great" i dont know, something like that. feelling cool i think is the best) mulatta (girl from black and white parents, a mixture)

[Rodrigusificacion]

Esta traducción deja mucho que desear. Hey this translation is wrong

[wwerey88]

WRONG!!!!!!!!! "Oye como va" in this song means "listen how it goes"

[whychooseaname]

you probably used a translator, because in Mexico, Oye is used as slang for Hey

[SmashBrosBrawl]

wow im confused,

cuze oye also means Listen.

Listen how it goes,

My rhythm

or

hey, are you

my rythm

[miguel46580]

Oye Como Va in this song does mean "Hear how it goes" but I can see how the poster of this video got mistaken because 'Oye Como Va' can also mean "Hey, how's it going?".

[penyarol]

"oye como va" jajaja q buena cancion

[EddieDisaster]

The thing is what the song make you feel, the lyrics just complete the rhythm

[publicpwnership]

lol. i like this translation

[rowlandcharlie]

Tito Puente wrote this

[EddieBear631]

Everybody's translation seems to differ. This is incorrect, but the context is about the same. It's just about celebrating the playing of music.

[salsakater]

Oberklasse Nummer

[alpha735]

Thank You!

[0kill13]

sorry but he's a guitar legend. but he's still awesome.

[greengreyandblue]

I remember reading that what this was supposed to mean was we'll play it as we go kinda, or we'll hear it as it goes, or we'll play it by ear kind of. am i wrong? could it mean that?

[Unknownbandd]

check out my vid response :D

[sweavo]

about 50%+ of cha cha cha songs basically translate to "listen to my rhythm, hear how it goes, good to enjoy, good for dancing, baby, like this, listen to my new rhythm..." etc

[djminimoto]

Finally, I get the translation for Oye Como Va!

[cooltim123]

Oye como va, mi ritmo "hear how it goes, my rythm"

[FoShizzle713]

actually the lyrics are more like: "hear how it goes, my rhythm, good for enjoying, mulatto"

(mulatto=person who has one black parent & one white parent)

[Ibeatgod689]

though a friend of mine pointed out that considering sanatanas blend into latin rock mulatta could also refer to his mix of genres metaphorically speaking.

[bolleholle]

i think his incorrect lyrics are better!

[peacemtn]

Beyond cool

[pasloma]

Not a good translation at all in this case.... it's speaking about "OYE COMO VA MI RITMO" WHICH MEANS... HEAR HOW MY RYTHM GOES (OR IS) OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT... But it's OYE FROM THE VERB OIR... NOT "HEY"

nice try.

[000how]

@pasloma Im spanish, maybe i cant express correctly in english, but i understand spanish at the perfetion. In this song "oye" as used at a suramerican form that means "hey" at first than "ear" or "lissen", the phrase are colloquial, not try to say anything, only means "hey wats up?" or any similar.

[FuLuShouXi]

@pasloma at least whomever made the video tried. My first language is English and I also thought Oye was Hey!. When I was a teenager I had a co-worker who would say to me Oye flaka so I also assumed it meant hey. To a non-native speaker of Spanish oye or hey maybe more commonly used. Your translation does sound better.

[theokris]

@FuLuShouXi  in this context "Oye, flaca" it means "Hey, baby". When "oye" is used in exclamatory sentences it means "hey". so, jggt1710 's translation is the most appropriate one.

[XxLesadxX]

lol learn spanish please, ¬¬ "Oye (verbo oir) como va mi ritmo"

[xoxshaniatwainxox]

I am doing a how tomorrow to this dance:D

I love you Ben(my dance partner)!!

[xoxshaniatwainxox]

sorry I meant I am doing a dance show tomorrow to this dance:D

[pmnaranjo]

Mulata is not babe:S it means a mixture between black and white. Say black mother and white father or vice-versa... so basically a mulata is a black latina with mucho sabor! jajaja

[crazyfunkyanna]

hehe

sankar7070 wrote it right. buen intento!

[livertad7]

hehehe very nice very nice

[ChockyMilky]

yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh babe!!! santana rocks.

[sankar7070]

bueno pa' gozar means " good for enjoying" not "good for partying"

'oye como va mi ritmo' means ..."hear how my rhythm goes"

how's it going is "como te va" .. more precisely "how's it going for u"

[duhkha88]

En realidad si dice pa`...

[turquoise15]

The real translation should be,"Hey how's it going? My rhythm, is good for enjoyment." Also, he does not say pa', he says para.

[forhissake]

The term sabor at the start is used to indicate sweetness as the flavor of the tune. This is like using the word azucar that means sugar in salsa songs to introduce the tune.

[Ikorocker]

your lirics r wrong

oye como va mi ritmo bueno pa gozar means

listen how it goes,mi rythm, good to have some fun,mi babe

[theblackwallstreet07]

ohh is because he misunderstood the first line cuz he tought it was a question thats why he translated wrong

[Sc4r7]

at 00:20 its a picture of him playing in woodstock

[jax1moi8]

I think I get it. It's kind of the antithesis of Deep Purple's "Black Suede." LOL

[srstacy]

What does he say at the beginning, at 0:04?

[mbcrra]

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr SABOR!!!

rrrrrrrrrrrrr=Onomatopoeia, no mean

sabor=flavor, used mainly in salsa music, like "azúcar"

[tabasquian1972]

as far as i know mulata means a black woman(morena or negra) in spanish...

[TeqRita]

Oye como va, is better translation: Listen how it goes, my rhythm, good to enjoy, babe

[cubanito48]

translations in music are not good only very few, because phrases don't mean the same in all languages.

[blueterrior]

oye como va, mi ritmo bueno pa' gosar

[IzzyDaniels4949]

and then the guitar KILLS!!!... YES!

[rikkisurfergirl]

in my dance clas we have to danc eto this song with partners and mine well... he is a little tooo into the song but i love calos santana praise the guitar god bueno!

[puffball9]

my marching band is playing this song

[CBR600F3ROX]

We are playing this song too for the Alamo bowl is San Antonio Texas

[unrealistic1]

the lyrics basically mean:

"hear how my rhytm goes, it is good for partying." as far as mulata goes, it can mean black/white woman, but it can also mean a woman with a darker skin color (latin women tend to be darker than oh lets say white women)

fyi, mulata is said seperate from the three other lines.

hope that helped! =]

[IzzyDaniels4949]

who cares, its the GUITAR thats important

[sweavo]

there was no guitar on the original! (tito puente)

[munyones]

Agree, but I'd trade "good for partying" for "good for enjoying" or "good for pleasure" (lyrics suggest to me that the rhytm is "quite ejoyable" as if the singer was trying to convince the girl to come and dance... Well, I guess he's also flirting ;-) ). Just my 2 cents.

[sakamoko99]

umm, im spanish descent and mulata does NOT mean babe, it means someone who is half black and half white, just like the term mulatto. There are alot of mulattos in the world and the term is not meant as a derogatory thing, it simply states what is. mulata means black and white person.

[50Lobo]

Yups that's what it means...

[munyones]

But in Cuba, for example, the use of mulato/mulata is also common to call your boyfriend/girlfriend.

In (european) Spain it was (not currently) common to use moreno/morena (dark haired or brunette) upon the typical colour of the hair, even if your girl was blonde! (but most spaniards where dark haired in the past)

[munyones]

Well, I'm spanish. When you tell a girl "honey"... do you literally mean that she's "a sticky byproduct from bees"? :) Of course "mulata" has the literal meaning you say, but is used as a charming way to call your dearie or a pretty girl in this context.

[californiansteven]

how about "chica"

[tabasquian1972]

chica? means girl,a young girl,like school girl..

[Purpleasure1202]

...a sticky byproduct from bees?...

Oh, my, that was so funny!

[amirealllydoingthis]

I speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese. To put it simply, sometimes certain words and phrases just don't translate well, especially in songs.

[Bevidence]

Even if the translation is slightly out, it's still one the tightest short clips I've seen on here.

A BIG thumbs up! :)

[Nohbdysmyname]

your a little wrong. "Oye como va mi ritmo" is one part whcih means listen to my rythim and "bueno pa gozar mulata" means great for enjoying black women thats the real translation.

[artsylovelylady]

Yeah, baby.

[MicrosoftsourceCode]

Please can you post this clip as a response to my version of Oye Como Va as I got so many people ask what it means.

[melliebellie666]

It's pretty awesome all around.

[Cosmoprodigy]

LOL, it's a pickup line.

[cikacikita]

Awesome song by Santana.

[errickrb]

Mulata mean a mixed girl, thats black & white, O, i'm lucky then because i get a dark skinned girlfriend :P.

[MariposaGirl1981]

babe!

[sibuskas]

babe! se salieron...

Black & white? In US you cannot write or say the 'b' word...so, translation 'african_american-caucasian mix' lol... how complicated this simple fact. But thats the way US society works ( not 'american' society...America runs from Alaska to Argentina) hehehe, estos weros!

[chrisandrenee]

What is the translation for E' Papa Re'

[ZAMBUCO]

Song orginally by Tito Puente, hope I didn't offend your God.

[thezenutz]

nice song . but uh mulata means white/black female

not dark skinned girl or hot chick.

[mayrr]

ay va que bien traducido xD

[Chainsawdude]

Hey I DON'T Care If The Girls Have Brown Skin As They're Hot!!!!

[JCRea]

This is it:

"Listen how it goes,

 my rythm, Good to enjoy, brown skin girl"

[ybspain]

This is the only correct translation / Esta es la unica traduccion buena!

[Praetor]

that's right, this is the translation.

[Soix]

"Listen to my rhythm, its good for partying girl (latin brown skinned)"

Thats the final definition.. (Hey I`m Spanish xD)

[DIsraelTV]

"oye como va, mi ritmo"... couldn't it also mean, listen to how it goes, my rhythm... In an 'english' translation: Listen to how my rhythm goes.... the song makes more sense in spanish....

just for arguements sake, "listen to how it goes, my rhythm, good for partying, (girl, dark-skinned)" for Mexicanos, dark-skinned is beautiful, we're proud of it, so 'dark-skinned' doesn't have to be translated.

[jonnystranger]

Thank-you!

[darkxhino]

hey santana is the best in latinoamerica!