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"People are not afraid to tell me that they have made love to my music." - Santana Related material on NY Rock: Photo of Santana featured on our Feb. 2000 cover Dave Matthews at Woodstock (Aug. 1999) Lauryn Hill at Grammys (Feb. 1999) at MTV Awards (Sept. 1999) Rob Thomas Interview (Aug. 1998) 
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NYROCK: |
Are there any specific rituals you do before performing? |
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SANTANA: |
Yes, we meditate for ten to fifteen minutes. Everybody doesn't have to do it. It's not a forced thing. But the ones who do it, they know that the door is open. |
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NYROCK: |
From all the guest performances on the album [Dave Matthews, Everlast, Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Mana, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Eric Clapton], which one did you enjoy the most? |
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SANTANA: |
They are all supremely special. I think the one that I enjoyed the most was the one with Eric Clapton because it was done like in a second. He came in and we just started playing. We just looked into each other's eyes and it just happened. There was no schematics or sketch or music. We just did it. It's called a calling. But they are all very special. |
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NYROCK: |
Can you recall when you first realized the power of music? |
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SANTANA: |
As a kid, I remember watching how people's eyes would light up when my father played the violin. I knew he had the power to validate people's existence. |
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NYROCK: |
Where do find your inspiration to create? |
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SANTANA: |
From my mother, my four sisters, and my wife. I am also very in touch with my feminine side – in touch with the balance and my inner chi. It's important to know that everything in life is balance. That melody is the woman and rhythm is the man. |
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NYROCK: |
Do you feel that being famous is a burden? |
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SANTANA: |
There is a scene in the movie Selena where she says, "I carry the dreams and aspirations of my people." Well, that's what I do. So I take a lot of pride in presenting myself as a man first, and then if you want, Chicano, Latin, Mexican. But I'm a person and a spirit first. |
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NYROCK: |
What, if anything, would you have done differently in your career? |
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SANTANA: |
I probably would have fired people a long time ago and not have been so sentimental about it. I would have fired myself too. [Laughs.] On the other hand, I feel like this is the best part of my life because I've learned that God made the world round so that we can all have center stage. I have center stage right now. |
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NYROCK: |
Do you think the youth of today differs from that of twenty years ago? |
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SANTANA: |
Kids are the same. They still need the same things that we need. They need to know, even though they won't say it, that they are important. And they need to know that we are proud of them. They may act like they are too cool. Most teenagers, in fact all people, need to validate their existence. When you don't validate your existence, you are never happy. And you can never be happy unless you are grateful first. |
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NYROCK: |
Do you consider yourself religious? |
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SANTANA: |
No, religion is a corrupt business. Spirituality is something else. Religion is like Coca-Cola, Pepsi cola, wine. That's not going to help in the desert. Religion is a corrupt institution and we don't trust those. Spirituality is you bringing one to one with la virgin and God. It's all one. No, I don't want to be religious because a lot of people have been killed in the name of religion because they get a superiority complex. Spirituality is all like water.… All the colors are there, but it's still water. I know the difference between spirituality and religious and I don't want to be religious. |
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NYROCK: |
A final thought: If you were an animal, what would you be? |
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SANTANA: |
I would be an eagle because it truly represents liberty, equality, and justice. Those are the things I treasure the most. You can have the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. I'll deal with that when I get to the other side; but right now, I want liberty, equality, and justice. |
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| February 2000 
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