Carlos Santana

Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States with Santana, which pioneered a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed him at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists. Rolling Stone named Santana 11th greatest guitarist of all time in 2023. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Biography Early life 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, his mother took him to see the Tj's, the pioneer rock and roll band from the city. TJ (tee jay) is a nickname for Tijuana. They were formed by Javier Bátiz. At the age of 12 Carlos became a roadie and eventually he would join them as a bass player, bass because Bátiz was playing guitar. He later left so he could play guitar in another bar band. The Tj's and Bátiz turned Carlos onto Blues. Specially into T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, and James Brown.