Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana
born: 20-07-1947
birth place: Autlan, Mexico
Born in Autlan, Mexico, Carlos Santana was influenced by the traditional music of his native country from a very early age. His unique fusion of Latin music and rock’n’roll eventually led to fourteen gold, and nine platinum, albums.

As a child, Santana’s father, an accomplished mariachi violinist, instructed him in music. In 1955, the family moved to the border town of Tijuana, and Carlos took up the guitar.
In 1961, Santana relocated to San Francisco, to join his family who had gone ahead of him a year previously. There, Santana was immersed in an exciting climate of change - political, cultural, and artistic.
1966 saw the debut performance of the Santana Blues Band, and such was the speed of their rise that, by 1969, the band was playing at the legendary Woodstock festival.
In the same year their first album was released, entitled 'Santana'. It went double platinum, but was exceeded by their next record, 'Abraxas', which went quadruple platinum during 1970.
Carlos Santana’s achievements are as varied as his musical influences. He wrote the score to the film 'La Bamba', and in 1987 took part in the Rock’n’Roll Summit - the first ever joint US and Soviet rock concert.

He also supports numerous civic and humanitarian causes, such as Blues for Salvador, San Francisco Earthquake Relief, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Santana Band was the first group to receive the CBS Records Crystal Globe Award, for international album sales exceeding five million, and in 2000 Santana collected eight Grammy awards, with the song 'Smooth' winning both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and the album 'Supernatural' picking up the prize for Album of the Year.

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