Carlos Santana Biography:- Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán born July 20, 1947 is an American guitarist best known as a founding member of the rock band Santana. He was born and raised in Mexico, where he developed a strong musical background, and he rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States. Santana’s music is notable for its fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz, characterized by his melodic, blues-influenced guitar lines combined with Latin and African rhythms, often featuring percussion instruments like timbales and congas.
Carlos Santana Biography 2025
Carlos Santana is a Mexican guitarist, composer, singer, and bandleader who played a pivotal role in shaping the concept of “world music” through his innovative blending of diverse musical styles from various ethnic traditions. Born Carlos Augusto Alves Santana on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico, he is the son of José Santana and Josefina Barragán, and one of six children. Santana began his musical journey at the age of five, learning the violin from his father, a professional mariachi musician. He switched to guitar at eight when the family relocated to Tijuana, where he started performing in clubs and bars along the Tijuana Strip during the late 1950s. In 1961, he moved to San Francisco, California, to join his family. In 1966, he founded the Santana Blues Band, and by 1968, he was promoted.
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Carlos Santana Biography 2025 Details
Birth name
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán
Born
July 20, 1947 (age 77)
Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico
Santana was born on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico. He began learning the violin at age five and took up the guitar at eight, guided by his father, a mariachi musician. His younger brother, Jorge, also became a professional guitarist. The family moved to Tijuana, where Carlos’s rock and roll journey began. His mother took him to see the Tj’s, a pioneering local rock band formed by Javier Bátiz, at Parque Teniente Guerrero. At 12, he became a roadie for the band and later joined them as a bass player, as Bátiz played guitar. Eventually, he left to play guitar in another bar band.
The Santana family later relocated to San Francisco, where his father found stable work. In October 1966, Carlos formed the Santana Blues Band, which began to integrate various influences into their electric blues by 1968. Santana later remarked, “If I would go to some cat’s room, he’d be listening to Sly [Stone] and Jimi Hendrix; another guy to the Stones and the Beatles. Another guy’d be listening to Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaría.
Carlos Santana proposed to Cindy Blackman who is his drummer during a concert of the Universal Tone Tour at Tinley Park. The couple eventually got married in December 2010. Santana has 3 children with his ex-wife, Deborah King.