Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican American rock guitarist.
Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, known for their groundbreaking blend of rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band's sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin and African rhythms featuring percussion instruments such as timbales and congas not generally heard in rock music. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.
He has won 10 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards, and Rolling Stone recognized him as the 20th greatest guitarist of all time.
His nephew, Víctor Hugo Aguilar, is a voice actor and ADR director.
Tropes Magic Woman:
- Dark and Troubled Past: Was sexually abused as a child for two years by the father of a friend, and he played mariachi in plenty of truly disgusting and depraved brothels in Tijuana with his father.
- Epic Rocking: He is known for his lengthy and virtuoso guitar solos.
- Check out, for example, from Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live! with the 25-minute jam "Free Form Funkafied Filth."
- Iconic Item: His Gibson SGs, and later his Prs Santana signature models.
- I Am the Band: His band is even named after him.
- Signature Instrument: More like a signature instrument line; He's been playing Paul Reed Smith Guitars before PRS was even a commercial company, and his name is synonymous with them.
- Simple, yet Awesome: For such an acclaimed guitarist, Santana tends to keep things simple, focusing on melody than fast playing.