Carlos Santana to be Honored by Tijuana Mayor, Presidente Municipal Lic. Francisco A. Vega De Lamadrid.

Entertainment Editors & Music Writers

TIJUANA, Mexico--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2000

The Musician Will Be Declared a 'Distinguished Tijuanense'

and Named an Ambassador of Culture

It was announced today by Tijuana, Mexico's Presidente Municipal -- the equivalent of a mayor stateside -- Lic. Francisco A. Vega De Lamadrid that on Friday, Oct. 13, music legend Carlos Santana will be honored in a ceremonial proceeding at the city's Patio Central de Palacio Municipal.

Santana will receive a Declaration as a Distinguished Tijuanense, to be presented with a key to the city, and named an Ambassador of Culture of Tijuana. Santana will address the public from the event stage, and the festivities will be followed by a press conference in the President's Room inside Palacio Municipal.

Lic. Francisco A. Vega De Lamadrid has been wanting to honor Carlos Santana since early this year, a year that has been a whirlwind for the musician as activities and honors surrounding his phenomenally successful album "Supernatural" have been non-stop. In the last weeks of a more than three-month concert tour in support of the RIAA Diamond-status and multiple Grammy- and Latin Grammy-winning album, Santana's itinerary brings him to San Diego for a major show next Friday at the Coors Amphitheatre, offering an ideal opportunity to visit Tijuana for this remarkable occasion.

Born 53 years ago in the small Mexican village of Autlan, Carlos Santana moved north with his family to Tijuana in 1955. It was there that the aspiring musician seriously took up guitar, studying and emulating the sounds of B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, T. Bone Walker and other greats that he heard on the area's vibrant radio airwaves.

As much as he had been inspired by the early training he received from his father in traditional musical form and theory, Santana soon realized his dream was to break free and play rock 'n roll.

He started performing with local bands up and down the bustling "Tijuana Strip," and began to hone his considerable skills and invent his inimitable sound, much of it shaped by the formative years he spent in this lively border city before moving to the San Francisco Bay area and heading on the road toward superstardom.

Of being recognized by his former hometown with a thoroughfare in his name, Santana said, "This is a great honor that gives me much joy. The years that I spent in Tijuana represent an extremely special time and place that I hold very dear. Being remembered in such an extraordinary way is something that touches me deeply and I thank the city of Tijuana with all my heart."

At the pinnacle of a legendary recording and performing career that has spanned five decades, sold upwards of 50 million albums, and outlasted countless musical trends, Carlos Santana is more vital and relevant than ever. At the same time that he is one of the biggest musical forces on the planet, he is also a man firmly connected to his roots, and this honor by the city of Tijuana, Mexico, will be cherished dearly alongside his many musical awards and humanitarian citations.