Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana
Santana performing in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán[1]
Born	(1947-07-20) July 20, 1947 (age 76) Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico
Origin	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres	Latin rock blues rock jazz fusion
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter
Instrument(s)	Guitar vocals
Years active	1965–present[update]
Labels	RCA[2] Arista Polydor Columbia CGD PolyGram
Spouse(s)	Deborah Santana (née King) ​ ​ (m. 1973; div. 2007)​ Cindy Blackman Santana ​ ​ (m. 2010)​
Website	santana.com

Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán^[1] (Spanish: [ˈkaɾlos umˈbeɾto sanˈtana βaraˈɣan] ^ⓘ; 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 Santana at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists.^[3] In 2023, Rolling Stone named him the 11th greatest guitarist of all time.^[4] He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards,^[5] and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.^[6]