Carlos Santana

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. 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, where his mother took him to see the Los TJ's, the pioneer Tijuana rock and roll band formed by Javier Bátiz. Carlos became a roadie for the group at age 12 and eventually joined as a bass player, playing bass because Bátiz was playing guitar. He later left so he could play guitar in another bar band. Los TJ's and Bátiz exposed Carlos to blues music, especially that of 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. 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. …

In 1965, Santana became a naturalized U.S. citizen. After discovering Chinmoy and Yogananda in 1972, Santana quit marijuana until 1981. In 2020, Santana launched his own brand of cannabis named Mirayo that honors "the spiritual and ancient Latin heritage of the plant." From 1973 to 2007, he was married to Deborah King, daughter of blues musician Saunders King. They have three children, including Salvador, and co-founded the Milagro (Miracle) Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides financial aid for educational, medical, and other needs. He stated in 2000 that he communicates with the angel Metatron. In 2007, King filed for divorce after 34 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. 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 and currently live in Las Vegas. 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. A statement from his publicist later announced that he had collapsed from heat and dehydration, but was being observed at the local hospital and would recover soon. His show scheduled for the day after was postponed. …