Santeria

How to play Santeria by Sublime on guitar

Santeria is a great song to learn because it sits in a relaxed groove that feels smooth and catchy once you lock in the changes. At about 90 BPM, you get enough space to hear every move, so it is a good intermediate tune for building confidence and timing.

You will use both open shapes and barre shapes, so the contrast is the main challenge. E and A are easier to grab, while G#, C#, C#m, B, and F# ask for cleaner fretting and more hand strength. The change to watch first is the opening move from E to G# to C# to C#m, since it sets the feel and can expose slow chord shifts.

Start by practicing the opening progression slowly and cleanly, one change at a time. Then loop the full chord cycle until your hands stop hesitating, and only after that bring it up to tempo. If a barre shape buzzes, pause and reset your thumb and wrist before trying again.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.