Carlos Santana

"Oye Como Va" is probably Carlos Santana's most famous hit, although not written by him, but by Tito Puente. Adding electric guitar to this Latin standard, he reached a huge audience with his blend of Rock'n Roll and Latin music. Santana and his band moved into spotlight at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969, where they surprised a drugged crowd with unexpected hot Afro-Cuban rhythms mixed with electric guitar. The air filled with smoke and love, Santana incorporated that spirit and has since continued to spread his message of love, freedom and equality. Hits like "Black Magic Woman" and "Evil Ways" added to his success in the early seventies.

Often colorful and fancy on his album covers, Carlos Santana also wears and bears that colorful message that is meant to say: "we're all brothers" (and sisters I guess, too) "and let's celebrate the human spirit." He thinks of his music as a universal message of love, tolerance and brotherhood.

This attitude must be influenced by his background and upbringing: born in 1947 in Autlan, Mexico into a musical family, Santana emulated his father, Jose, an accomplished Mariachi violinist who taught Carlos the basics of music. In 1955, the Santanas moved to Tijuana, where Carlos started to play in local Rock'n Roll bands. A while after his family moved to San Francisco, Santana followed and must have had his ultimate musical revelation at the Fillmore West in San Francisco in 1966, where he saw B.B. King for the first time. This experience influenced the creation of his famous tone on the guitar and lead him to form his own group, the Santana Blues Band, which would two years later play at the same venue where he saw his idol perform. The rest is history, as they say, although after his success in the late 60s and early seventies, it became quieter around him, at least in commercial terms.

Constantly producing new albums and exploring new musical land, Santana could never tie on to his early success. But what does that mean? Not a lot, since Santana is a true musician who is sincerely interested in using music as a universal language that knows no boundaries. For the last 30 years, Santana has toured this planet many times and delighted crowds from Africa to Japan. His attitude towards playing music can be expressed best in his own words: "When we do a show, we take you for two hours and make the hair from the back of your neck to the tips of your toes stand up. I have the passion to please people's hearts. If you can please people's hearts in Africa and Japan, then you're part of the world's family... not a tourist." (Interview article by Ernesto Lechner) Playing live in front of people is where Santana gets his inspiration and satisfaction, and we certainly can expect him to be on the road for many more years.

He has explored many musical worlds with musicians such as John McLaughlin or Buddy Miles, just to name two collaborations that are documented on records like "Santana & Buddy Miles live" 1972 or "Love, Devotion, Surrender" with John McLaughlin.

Nevertheless, after a hitless period, he decided to get together again with his old record-company whiz Clive Davis, who signed Santana for Columbia Records in the late 60s, for which Davis was president. 30 years later, they signed again, this time Davis as president for Arista Records. Santana's plan was, according to Time Magazine, to "reconnect the molecules with the light." It seems that the fusion has been successful: Santana's latest CD "Supernatural" has already sold over 3 million copies, currently ranking # 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (as per October 22nd) and having been on the chart since 18 weeks. The album is also # 2 on the Top Internet Album Sales-Chart; and the song "Smooth" from the "Supernatural" Album, featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 on vocals, is another #1 holder on the Billboard singles chart (as per October 22nd). Not bad for a guy from the Woodstock generation who's contemporaries are either dead or out of business. (Well, not all of them).

The making of "Supernatural" falls into place with Santana's idea of embracing the world and it's diverse cultures. He assembled a batch of musicians who are younger than him and who come from different musical worlds, like Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean or Dave Matthews. This "immigration of styles" into his songs is also appreciated by different audiences such as aged hippies, university kids, Rock-Latin lovers and Rap fans. Something for everybody.

In this context it is interesting to mention some facts about the Hispanic population: at the beginning of this century, the population in the United States was 85 percent white and non-Hispanic. By 1990, the same population had dropped to 75 percent, while the Hispanic population increased enormously. Since 1900, it has developed 34-fold to 22 million in 1990, or from 0.9 percent of the population to 9.0 percent.