Carlos Santana

Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (born July 20, 1947) is a renowned American guitarist, worldwide known as a founder of the rock band Santana. He developed his musical background in Mexico, his birthplace, before he attracted fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana. The band pioneered a fusion of rock and Latin American jazz, featuring Santana's melody-rich, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin American and African rhythms seldom heard in rock, like timbales and congas. There was a revival in his popularity and critical recognition in the late 1990s. In 2015 and 2023, Rolling Stone magazine recognized Santana as No. 20 and No. 11, respectively, on their lists of the greatest guitarists. Over the time, he won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, besides the induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his expected band in 1998.

Born on July 20, 1947 in Autlán de Navarro in Jalisco, Mexico, Santana learned to play the violin at age five, and guitar at age eight, guided by his father, a mariachi musician. The family moved from Autlán to Tijuana, the border area with the United States, where Santana's rock and roll career started and later brought him to San Francisco. In 1966, he started the Santana Blues Band. He also became involved with different styles of music, especially blues, the influence of which became a key in developing his unique sound. The band presented a robust dual-lead-guitar act that gave a more energetic sound, under the assistance of multiple musicians who added different percussions and vocals. In 1972, finding inspiration in groups like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Santana started to take the direction toward jazz fusion. Throughout the years, he kept honing his sounds with his interests in spirituality and blues music.