FESTIVÁL

Santana began a smooth change of the sound with Amigos but radically departed from the previous challenging music with Festival. The music has now the following characteristics: Latin rock-pop and R&B/funk. Gone are jazz moments and hard-rock equilibristic. Synths have sneaked in, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

One of the best tracks is the first one, "Carnaval" thanks to its length and space to explore Latin territory although in a less adventureous way than before. "Let the children play" is completely devoid of Latin influences and reminds me of Earth, Wind and Fire.

"Jugando" is one of the few tracks with acoustic guitar by Santana.

Another track worth mentioning is "Revelation", it would be a filler track on any previous album but here it stands out simply because it is an focus instrumental. "Try a little harder now" is a mixture of playful Latin and disco motives. "Maria Caracoles" has traces of previous percussion glory and Hammond organ.