Heath, C. (2000, March 16). The epic life of Carlos Santana: A tale of angels, devils, gurus, buried secrets and redemption after thirty years of rock and roll. Rolling Stone, p. 38.

OVERVIEW

Carlos Santana grew up in a small Mexican town of Autlán de Navarro until he was seven. Then, when he was seven, the family moved to the border town of Tijuana. His father was a musician, and Carlos loved his father’s ability to move people with his music and tell the family stories. At first Carlos tried—and hated—the violin, and then he fell in love with his guitar. He would play for 50 cents a song and accompany his father to play in sleazy joints.

The Santana Blues Band did well during the wild days of the late sixties and early seventies. After Woodstock, the band reached the heights. Drugs and other problems began to take their toll. Still, the group remained popular and received critical acclaim for its fusion of rock, fiery Afro-Latin rhythms, and jazz-like, cool vocals. Increasingly, Santana has moved toward jazz-rock fusion.

In 1972 he met Deborah, whom he describes as the strength of his life. They now have three children and live in California. For a while Carlos and Deborah came under the spell of guru Sri Chinmoy, whose spirituality Carlos describes as a "West Point approach to spirituality"—no drugs, strictly vegetarian, vigorous exercise, and five a.m. meditation. One of the things the guru said that impressed Carlos was, " ‘When the power of love replaces the love of power.’ "

After a while they separated themselves from Chinmoy. Deborah began attending a Presbyterian Church in San Jose, and Carlos "became a born-again Christian to appease her, so to speak."

Santana’s faith is somewhat unique and eclectic. He believes strongly in angels—especially one Metatron, who has communicated to him.

It’s an enormous peace, the few times I have felt his presence in the room. I feel lit up. I’m not Carlos anymore, I’m not bound to DNA anymore. It’s beyond sex, it’s beyond anything that this world could give you a buzz. It makes me feel like Jesus embraced me and I’m bathed in light.

If you carry joy in your heart you can heal any moment. There is no person that love cannot heal; there is no soul that love cannot save.

My reality is that God speaks to you every day. There’s an inner voice, and when you hear it, you get a little tingle in your medulla oblongata at the back of your neck, a little shiver…

In 1994 Santana came back to producing music. His wife’s encouragement, Arista Record’s president, Clive Davis, and a therapist all had a place in his comeback—and the longest top album of 1999-2000.

Over the weeks the interviews for this article took place, Santana revealed something that surprised even him. It was a hurt he had never shared publicly. The therapist, he revealed, helped him get over the gnawing anger with which he had struggled for so long. She helped him see the "Guilt, Shame, Judgment, and Fear" that was blocking his work. Gradually he was able to see where those things were coming from.

‘There was a combination of Catholic upbringing and child molestation.’ (There was a long pause, and then slowly Carlos got into the story.)

For about two years, from 1957 to 1959, when he was between ten and twelve years old, Carlos Santana was brought over the border ‘almost every other day’ by this American guy from Burlington, Vermont, who dressed like a cowboy. He’d buy Carlos presents—food, clothes, toys—and abuse him. It ended when Carlos fell in love with a girl and the man got jealous.

‘You want to get angry with yourself for not knowing better. The mind has a very insidious way of making you feel guilty: You’re the guilty party, shame on you, you’re the one who brought this on yourself.’

‘All the times I was angry with the original band or with my wife, till ’95, it was all of that. I have learned to convert all this energy now into something productive and creative’

‘Whether you’re a woman or man who has been raped or molested, you don’t have to ruin the rest of your life and ruin your family’s life by blaming yourself, feeling dirty, ashamed. Burn all those things, man. Put all those things in a letter, burn it, take the ashes, plant some roses and put the ashes on it, and watch it grow. And let it go…If it can happen to me, and God has blessed me a hundred times, I hope that he will bless you a thousand times.’

‘I feel God wants me to pay him back. He has given me so much, and to pay back is to heal.’

‘I’d no idea I’d start telling this. I can only pray that me coming out like this, people who have gone the road that I have taken, it will be invitation for them to heal and be whole. It’s the healing process so that other people—molesters and victims—can read it and go, "Damn, I don’t have to be this anymore." My job is done—I don’t need to win one award, because my victory is won.’

Most everyone has enjoyed Santana’s "Supernatural" album and realize it rode the top of the charts for a long time.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. How do you explain the return of Carlos Santana and the popularity of his work?
2. What other artists have written music out of deep personal pain?
3. What does the music of Carlos Santana convey to you?

IMPLICATIONS

• Santana’s first album was "Santana" with Columbia (1969) followed by "Abraxas" (1970) and many others, including Caravanserai (1972), "Amigos; Festival" (1976), "Moonflower" (1977), "Inner Secrets" (1978), "Marathon" (1979), "Zebop!" (1981), "Beyond Appearances" (1985), "Freedom" (1987), "Spirits Dancing" (1990), "Lotus" (1991), "Milagro" (1992, last new studio album before "Supernatural"), and "Supernatural" (1999).
• It is a good thing to enjoy many different types of music. Even if Santana’s style is not your favorite, it is an important part of the musical landscape.
• The life and experience of a musician matter. Like Tori Amos and others, Santana has become a wounded healer and a prophet of hope.

Dean Borgman cCYS