Festival (1977) Songwriting Credits

Authorship Breakdown 7 / 11 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 11 tracks with documented writers, by whether Santana carries a lyricist or composer credit.

64%

7 trackswritten by Santana 4 tracksoutside writers

Santana's roles on this album

Share of the 11 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist64%

Composer64%

Producer0%

Performer100%

By the Numbers

11

Tracks

9

Lyricists

1

Producers

1977

Released

Data Insight

Festival is built almost entirely on band compositions, with Tom Coster, Carlos Santana, Leon Patillo, and José Areas trading writing credits across the record. The album leans hard into Latin-jazz fusion, pairing Coster's keyboard-driven harmonic ideas with Patillo's gospel-tinged vocals and dense Afro-Cuban percussion. Coming after Amigos, it sits as a transitional late-1970s release that closed out a lineup era: it was Coster's last full studio album, Patillo's second and final record as the band's vocalist, and Areas' last appearance with the group. Two outside covers anchor the Latin material, Nonato Buzar's "Verão Vermelho" and Pello el Afrokán's "María Caracóles."

Festival is the eighth studio album by Santana, released in 1977 on Columbia Records. The album continued the accessible, rhythmically driven sound of Amigos, blending Latin rock with the emerging fusion and disco currents of the late 1970s. Tom Coster contributed significantly to the songwriting, and the band's Afro-Cuban percussion section remained the rhythmic anchor. "Jugando" and "Let the Children Play" showed the band balancing commercial appeal with the percussive complexity that had always set Santana apart from mainstream rock groups. Festival was a solid commercial entry in the band's catalog, demonstrating that even in a period of stylistic flux in rock, Santana's rhythmic identity was strong enough to weather any era.

Track Listing & Credits 11 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers

#	Title	Lyricist(s)	Composer(s)	Producer(s)	Performers
1	Carnaval	Tom CosterCarlos Santana	Tom CosterCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
2	Let the Children Play #102	Leon PatilloCarlos Santana	Leon PatilloCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
3	Jugando	José AreasCarlos Santana	José AreasCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
4	Give Me Love	Pablo Téllez	Pablo Téllez	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
5	Verão Vermelho	Nonato Buzar	Nonato Buzar	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
6	Let the Music Set You Free	Tom CosterLeon PatilloDavid RubinsonCarlos Santana	Tom CosterLeon PatilloDavid RubinsonCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
7	Revelations	Tom CosterCarlos Santana	Tom CosterCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
8	Reach Up	Tom CosterPaul JacksonLeon PatilloCarlos Santana	Tom CosterPaul JacksonLeon PatilloCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
9	The River	Leon PatilloCarlos Santana	Leon PatilloCarlos Santana	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
10	Try a Little Harder	Leon Patillo	Leon Patillo	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana
11	María Caracóles	Pello el Afrokán	Pello el Afrokán	David Rubinson	Carlos Santana