Carlos Santana Opens Up On His New Book

‘Don’t just sit there like a lump. Do something.’

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Carlos Santana dedicated his new book ‘The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story To Light’ to his mother Josefina.  In that book Santana talked about his life and struggles growing up in Mexico — and how he eventually made it to become a top selling artist with more than 100 million records and 10 Grammys.

“My mom would say ‘OK, we’re poor, but we’re not dirty and filthy, clean the house,'” Santana told Michel Martin of ABC News. “She would say, ‘What are you doing?’ And if you say ‘nothing,’ ‘I know! Make yourself useful. Don’t just sit there like a lump. Do something.'”

Growing up Santana explained how he learned to play music.  Realizing that was the path he wanted to go down he knew he had a long road ahead of him without proper training or having enough money to purchase proper music instruments.


I was drawn to music just by watching everybody, children, older people, and especially women looking at my dad. Every time he played, women were like, ‘Oh Don Jose,’ you know? And I’m like ‘Ooh, Don Jose?! I want some of that.’ I didn’t know what to call it, but I know that now we call it ‘being adored.’

Santana went on to say that he wanted people to read the book because it is an inspirational story about how he overcame multiple obstacles in his life to achieve the goals he set forth for himself.

I’m not Latino, or Spanish; what I am is a child of light. I want this book for people to understand that you don’t have to be the Dalai Lama, or the Pope, or Mother Teresa, or Jesus Christ to create blessings and miracles. Keep repeating, ‘I am that I am; I am the light.’

Santana lets his music speak for itself — letting his audience know that the songs he grew up with are what inspired him to create the style of music he’s played over the decades.  Always driving to keep his fans coming back for more.