Arsenio's version, however, was arranged as an uptempo guaracha and released as the B-side of Pablo Cairo's "Sin tu querer" by RCA Victor.

[2] The song has since been covered by multiple artists, including Marcelino Guerra himself, and has been called a "classic track"[3] and an important recording in the development of Arsenio's career.

However, records such as "Sandunguera" have been highlighted as early examples of Arsenio's trademark syle of interlocking rhythms and sudden tempo changes.

Describing the original recording, Ned Sublette emphasized how the pianist, Adolfo "Panacea" O'Reilly, "drops into bell-like quarter-note octaves on the piano to lock in with the cowbell".

The lyrics of the song extol the beauty of a mulata, a black woman, often called sandunguera in Cuba, the adjetival form of sandunga (grace, charm).