Maria Maria - Santana Featuring The Product G&B (2000)

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[2000-2004 Best Songs]
Billboard Top 100, 2000: #3                                                                 

The backup vocal on this sultry Latin-Pop ballad is the guitar itself, "played by Carlos Santana," of course.

I'm a sucker for a song with a sound that fits the lyrics. I could imagine this very song playing outside in the streets, in the dead of summer, asphalt baking, people trying to find a little shade, a little water. Kids in swimsuits playing in the sprinklers and hoses in their front yards.

People from outside the area might call it a dangerous neighborhood, but for the people who live there, it's home, and you make the best of it. Life is hard, money is tight. Mostly you live for your family, love, good home-cooked food, and great music.