[1] In the song's lyrics, originally written in Spanish creole, the singer wonders aloud what to do with a statue of Babalú Ayé, now that a Santería rite had been invoked by others.
[1] He suggests that seventeen candles be lit up, in the shape of a cross, and that a cigar and aguardiente be brought to him, as to pay homage to the deity.
[3] By the time Arnaz had adopted the song, it had become a Latin American music standard, associated mainly with Cuban singer Miguelito Valdés, who recorded one of its many versions with Xavier Cugat and his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra.
Whenever Arnaz and his band played the song live, he would finish it with an extended conga solo and chorus-refrain section, mimicking Cuban comparsas (a popular genre usually associated with the city of Santiago de Cuba).
In Hanna-Barbera's "Quick Draw McGraw", the title character's Mexican burro sidekick, who was based on Desi Arnaz, was named Baba Looey in a nod to the song.