Happy Birthday Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana was born July 20, 1947, somewhere in Mexico. Young Carlos was introduced to the violin by his father Jose, a professional violinist. But the boy needed to rock n roll and switched to the guitar.

In 1955, the family moved to Tijuana. As a teenager, Santana began performing in Tijuana strip clubs. Carlos states that the song “Black Magic Woman” was written about a stripper who worked the donkey show. In the early 1960s, Santana moved again with his family, this time to San Francisco, where his father had already relocated to find work. Carlos became a naturalized American citizen in 1965.

Evil Ways

In 1967, Carlos and a friend climbed up the fire escape of the Fillmore theater in SF, in an attempt to sneak into the Cream concert. The duo was caught by owner and impresario Bill Graham, who knocked their heads together and then offered to manage their band. Graham convinced Santana that they need songs instead of endless jamming and convinced the band to record “Evil Ways”.

Carlos Santana Illustration By Paul King Art

Bill Graham wanted to get Santana on the bill at Woodstock, so he cut the band Chicago’s brake lines on their tour bus and they drove off a cliff. No one was hurt but the band was unable to get to the festival so Santana was hired.

Woodstock

Carlos was dosed with LSD right before they were about to go on at Woodstock. It took full effect as he was walking on stage. The stage was spinning, he saw his dead grandmother and the neck of the guitar turned into a snake. He grabbed on and rode it out. Halfway through, he remembers looking at himself in the audience, watching himself performing. A lesser band might have collapsed, but Santana gave one of the greatest performances of all time.

Santana delved into spirituality, jazz, marriage, comebacks and more. He is a beloved musician and gentle soul. Most recently, he was unfortunately picked up by ICE and deported to Mexico. They did not believe he was a citizen.