Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán[1] (Spanish: [ˈkaɾlos umˈbeɾto sanˈtana βaraˈɣan] ⓘ; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.
This article is about the guitarist. For other people named Carlos Santana, see Carlos Santana (disambiguation).
Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán[1]
July 20, 1947
Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico
San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Musician
- songwriter
- Guitar
- vocals
1965–present
In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists.[3] In 2023, Rolling Stone named him the 11th greatest guitarist of all time.[4] He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards,[5] and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.[6]
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro in Jalisco, Mexico on July 20, 1947. He learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight, under the tutelage of his father, who was a mariachi musician.[7] His younger brother, Jorge, also became a professional guitarist.
The family moved from Autlán to Tijuana, on the border with the United States. Carlos' rock and roll career started in the city park: Parque Teniente Guerrero, his mother took him to see the Tj's, the pioneer rock and roll band from the city. TJ (tee jay) is a nickname for Tijuana. They were formed by Javier Bátiz. At the age of 12 Carlos became a roadie and eventually he would join them as a bass player, bass because Bátiz was playing guitar. He later left so he could play guitar in another bar band.[8] The Tj's and Bátiz turned Carlos onto Blues. Specially into T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, and James Brown.
The Santanas then moved to San Francisco where his father had steady work.[7][9][10][11] In October 1966, Santana started the Santana Blues Band. By 1968, the band had begun to incorporate different types of influences into their electric blues. Santana later said, "If I would go to some cat's room, he'd be listening to Sly [Stone] and Jimi Hendrix; another guy to the Stones and the Beatles. Another guy'd be listening to Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaría. Another guy'd be listening to Miles [Davis] and [John] Coltrane... to me, it was like being at a university."[12]
Around the age of eight, Santana "fell under the influence" of blues performers like B.B. King, Javier Bátiz, Mike Bloomfield, and John Lee Hooker. Gábor Szabó's mid-1960s jazz guitar work also strongly influenced Santana's playing. Indeed, Szabó's composition "Gypsy Queen" was used as the second part of Santana's 1970 treatment of Peter Green's composition "Black Magic Woman", almost down to identical guitar licks. Santana's 2012 instrumental album Shape Shifter includes a song called "Mr. Szabo", played in tribute in the style of Szabó. Santana also credits Hendrix, Bloomfield, Hank Marvin, and Peter Green as important influences; he considered Bloomfield a direct mentor, writing of a key meeting with Bloomfield in San Francisco in the foreword he wrote to a 2000 biography of Bloomfield, Michael Bloomfield: If You Love These Blues – An Oral History.[13] Between the ages of 10 and 12, he was sexually abused by an American man who brought him across the border.[14] Santana lived in the Mission District, graduated from James Lick Middle School, and left Mission High School in 1965. He was accepted at California State University, Northridge and Humboldt State University, but chose not to attend college.[15]
Personal life[edit]
In 1965, Santana became a naturalized U.S. citizen.[54]
After discovering Chinmoy and Yogananda in 1972, Santana quit marijuana until 1981.[55] In 2020, Santana launched his own brand of cannabis named Mirayo that honours "the spiritual and ancient Latin heritage of the plant."[56]
From 1973 to 2007, he was married to Deborah King, daughter of blues musician Saunders King. They have three children, Salvador, Stella, and Angelica,[57] and co-founded the Milagro (Miracle) Foundation, non-profit organization which provides financial aid for educational, medical, and other needs.[58][59] He stated in 2000 that he communicates with the angel Metatron.[60] In 2007, King filed for divorce after 34 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.[61] On July 9, 2010, Santana proposed to his touring drummer Cindy Blackman on stage during a concert at Tinley Park, Illinois. The two were married in December 2010,[62][63] and currently live in Las Vegas.[64]
Santana underwent heart surgery in December 2021. He suffered an undisclosed medical emergency on stage at a concert at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Michigan on July 5, 2022, but was able to gain consciousness while being helped off the stage.[65] A statement from his publicist later announced that he collapsed from heat and dehydration, but was being observed at the local hospital and will recover soon. His show scheduled for the day after was postponed.[66] On July 8, 2022, Santana's management company said that he would postpone his next six concerts out of an "abundance of caution for the artist's health".[67]