Happy Birthday Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana was born in Autlan de Navarro in Mexico on July 20, 1947. His full name is Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán and he is a Mexican nationalized Mexican guitarist . His great talent has made him very recognized worldwide.
That recognition began in the 1960s, with the hippie movement, when Santana developed his particular style as a guitarist that unites Latin music, rock, jazz and funk. His figure stood out in the legendary Woodstock festival where he reveals the influence of salsa and hand funk on his guitar, enchanting an entire generation.
His father played the violin in a mariachi group in Autlán de Navarro. That's why Santana learned to play the violin since he was young, but he changed it to the guitar when he was eight years old. He said about this: "Ever since I was a little boy I always wanted to be like my father - a mariachi violinist from Michoacán, on the Mexican west coast - who was adored by people. The old people, the boys, the women, all adored him ... I wanted to be like him ... I wanted to please people and that people adored me as they adored my father ".
In 1955, his family moved to Tijuana, Baja California, at that time Carlos Santana already practiced a lot and emulated BB King, T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker under the tutelage of Javier Bátiz. He came to play in local bands such as Los TJS, which he was a bassist and where he reinterpreted the popular rock and roll songs of the fifties.
His family moved again, this time to San Francisco in 1961 and although Santana stayed some time in Tijuana he ended up leaving with them. There he learned English at school and continued practicing his music. San Francisco influenced him a lot because it is a cultural center, artistic and varied musical styles, a melting pot of art and the birthplace of the hippie movement. Four years later he received the American nationality .
He even said about his vocation:
"The first time I felt that I had some talent was because I gave myself the creeps, and I thought that if I could give myself the chills then I could provoke that to someone else."
In 1966, it was already part of the cultural scene, since it debuted with the Santana Blues Band and went to Bill Grahams' great Filmore West on the main stage of the famous Woodstock peace, love, music festival. That presentation has been one of the best known as an artist and as a guitarist in particular, he also gave clues to his style where he joined rock and Latin music. It was at that festival that he presented "Black Magic Women".
In 1973, Carlos Santana began a relationship with Deborah King with whom he had three children: Salvador, Estela and Angelica.
In 1972, his style evolved and merged with oriental fashions and more complex musical forms from jazz to progressive rock. After his release of Carabanserai, he began collaborating with important musicians such as Byddy Miles, Alice Coltrane and John McLaughlin. Throughout his career he was always the leader of the bands he played, but they changed constantly, what did not change was the number of fans and people who attended their concerts.
In the 80s, his rhythm became more "digestible" and he developed his jazz side more. At that time, I just released The Swing of Delight(1980), which is considered totally of the jazz genre, while his album Amigos, reunites Santana with the Latin sound of his childhood. In 1987, he released Blues for Salvador, which showed a clear political position, thanks to this album, he received a Grammy in 1989, but it would not be the last. On his ideology he said: "I do not believe in communism or capitalism, neither in democrats nor in republicans. I do not believe in religions, which are a business, corrupt institutions. I believe nothing but in the hearts of people."
In the 90s, he released his album Spirits dancing in the flesh that was rated as one of Carlos Santana's most ambitious and complete projects.
With all this, he has been one of the only artists who could commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock festival that was held in 1994. At the end of that decade, he released albums closer to pop with which he won nine Grammy awards.
"I love the current word, because it means that I am not afraid of the past or the future, I have always been in the present, eager to confront or complement what is put in front of me." - Carlos Santana
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