Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican American rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered 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.

Reissued from VHS as a companion to the similarly-titled CD retrospective, not only does this DVD celebrate Carlos Santana’s lengthy career, it also offers an insight into just how phenomenally popular he’s remained for close to 40 years. Some concert clips are of less than sterling quality, but the footage from Woodstock and vintage performances from The Ed Sullivan Show demonstrate that, while his UK profile has been erratic to say the least, he’s always been considered an A-lister in the United States. While some may be more familiar with Santana for his interpretations of other people’s songs (Black Magic Woman, She’s Not There), there’s plenty of evidence of his originality and inventiveness here. Guitar-heads may find themselves constantly stabbing at the slo-mo and freeze-frame buttons on their remotes to revel even further in his alien-like dexterity. It’s all peppered with some fascinating interview segments, too. Carlos regales us with all manner of anecdotes with all the brio of a veteran raconteur, breathing even more life into some already uplifting musical flights of fancy.

Released in 1988, Viva Santana! is a generous 30-track overview of Santana's first 20 years of recording. Appropriately, it concentrates on the band's glory years of the late '60s and early '70s, when both Carlos Santana and his supporting musicians were on fire. There are several unreleased cuts, including live tracks included for hardcore fans, but Viva Santana! is most useful as a thorough overview for curious listeners.

What can be said about the man, Carlos Santana, and his 'Santana' band or guitar playing that hasn't already been said already? The King of Guitar, who is capable of playing in any genre, and convincingly, is certainly no stranger to accolades. Now, right on time for the holiday season, Columbia Records blesses us all with this elaborate 4CD version of the Hit collection CD of a year ago in celebration of 40 years of great 'Santana' music that simply denies all form of classification. Jazz, Latin, Salsa, Merengue, Blues, Soul, Hip-Hop, R&B combined with Rock music, and the classic touch of Rock's Ultimo Heroes del Gitarre, Carlos Santana! Enjoy this holiday season in style! - Rick Wilson, former Rock Radio Journalist with Radio Canale Grandé.

Released in 1988, Viva Santana! is a generous 30-track overview of Santana's first 20 years of recording. Appropriately, it concentrates on the band's glory years of the late '60s and early '70s, when both Carlos Santana and his supporting musicians were on fire. There are several unreleased cuts, including live tracks included for hardcore fans, but Viva Santana! is most useful as a thorough overview for curious listeners.

These guitar workshops are powerful learning tools that will help extend your stockpile of licks and fills and help develop your improvisational skills. Features play-along songs in standard notation and tab, and on the CD with and without guitar parts.