Jorge Santana Barragán

Jorge Santana, a guitarist known for his central role in the Latin rock band Malo, as well as his collaborations with the Fania All Stars, died on May 14. He was 68.

His older brother, Carlos Santana, announced his death on Facebook. The family said Jorge died of natural causes.

Jorge Santana’s guitar was a central feature of “Suavecito,” the lead single of Malo’s self-titled 1972 debut. Done to a quasi-bolero, cha-cha-cha beat, the song, whose title means “smooth” in English, was a Top 20 hit, breaking Malo into the pop mainstream. A cultural touchstone for Mexican-Americans, it has been hailed as “the Chicano national anthem.”