Carlos

IT IS VERY INTRESTING AND I ENJOYED MISTER SANTANA'S , LIFE AND I AM HAPPY TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHARE IN THE MEMORYS AND RECIEVE SOME INTRESTING INFORMATION ABOUT MEXICAN MUSIC HISTORY AND THE ORGINS AND MEANS OF SONG OF ANOTHER CULTURE . CARLOS YOUR ALWAYS WELCOME IN AMERICA ! OHLA

Outstanding documentary with a good dose of Carlos's mind blowing music. I first heard him when Santana Abraxas was released in 1970 as Columbia Record Club's album of the month. I was 14, it came in the mail, and I never looked back. His message of peace and love transcends borders, space and time.

Have you ever heard of Carlos Santana, the musician widely known as a guitarist and singer? The new documentary, Carlos, combines old and new footage to tell his story as he navigates many elements of his life, not just his career. With so much excellent footage and informative narration, Carlos is a must-see for everyone, especially the musically inclined. Carlos follows legendary guitarist Carlos Santana as he starts off playing ukulele with his family and ends up producing music that we know today. From leaving his job, sacrificing the major support system of his family to pursue his passion, to performing at Woodstock with hundreds of thousands of people in the audience, to the band eventually breaking up, the story of Carlos Santana is explored. While the primary focus of this film is on Santana's career and the obstacles he faced there, it also touches on how his decisions and his career have affected his family life. The structure of Carlos is part of what makes this film so informative and easy to follow. The documentary follows his life in chronological order, and includes a variety of footage that helps tell his story clearly. For the early parts of his life Carlos Santana narrates as photographs and videos of his beginnings with family and performances are shown on screen. Newer interviews define more current parts of his life. For fans of Carlos's music or anyone interested in creating music, the behind-the-scenes footage of his music is being produced is sure to be an attention-grabber. Hearing Carlos's own thoughts about events of his life makes the film very interesting, as they provide a depth and understanding to the actions he took and why he took them. While the structure provides a lot of information, it occasionally leads to losing focus or being overwhelmed. However, Santana's humorous narration as well as the editing of new and old footage prevents being disinterested for very long. The theme of Carlos is to never give up. Pursuing your dreams and your interests is so important, and dreams really can come true if you put your mind to them and work hard. Santana also reminds us of the importance of keeping in touch with loved ones and maintaining positive relationships no matter what your personal goals are. The film does contain some profanity and other mature content. I give Carlos 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. You can watch Carlos in theaters beginning September 29, 2023. By Kyla C., KIDS FIRST!

Despite all of his awards and recognition, this a very fine view of a great musician and probably an even greater human being.

CARLOS – Directed by Rudy Valdez Starring Carlos Santana Seen on 10.4.23 This is a documentary about Carlos Santana's evolution into the world of music and I went to see it because, once I heard his sound on the electric guitar, my soul got caught. But this didn't happen during the beginnings of Santana's stardom, Woodstock, the joints and "the chicks." At the time I was in France, had a very elementary notion of American rock, turning instead to Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel. And, ironically, to Joe Dassin, an American who sang in French. Instead, my soul got caught after Jimmy Hendrix's death, after Santana could hear the drugs flushing in the toilets, as he put it, when musicians realized that cocaine and marijuana wouldn't work. My soul got caught during his renaissance. Instead of the drugs, the Mexican artist, born in Tijuana of a violinist father and a determined mother, chooses spirituality and for years follows the precepts of a guru. That spirituality will not leave him, and he talks about the Virgen de Guadalupe whose words of encouragement he hears once. In an album I owned, I remember him saying, "Somos rodeados de angeles." Angels are all around us. That's what I hear when his strings linger into long, shiny vibratos, a soul crying passion for the most elemental, genuine part of life. There is an episode when his father, who plays violin with the mariachis, takes the boy outside and whistles to the birds. The birds answer. Mi hijo, he tells his son, once you can talk to the birds, you can also reach the human soul. The format of this documentary is an intimist one. You won't hear fellow artists flashing compliments of the guitar player. You will hear his sisters, one especially, give lively family tales as they sit around a white garden table. You will hear Cindy Blackman, Santana's current wife as well as her powerful drum playing. Mostly, it's him, his mustache, his hat and his profound glance; it's this gentle, warm presence who from the start wants to be next to B.B. King and Eric Clapton, and who reaches his goal with quiet confidence. To me, this is a memoir collaged by Rudy Valdez. All along, over the background of his strong yet sensitive strings, their jazzy and tropical rhythms, their celebration of the moment lingering beyond the moment ("Time is an illusion," Carlos repeats.), Carlos interjects remembrances and remarks that sound like poetry and I wonder if the man has ever written some form of autobiography. I see that he has, in Spanish: El Tono Universal: Sacando Mi Historia a la Luz. I want to read it, for he is an eloquent storyteller whose beautiful elocution only loses its clarity when he mentions having been sexually molested. At some point he shows his guitar and declares, "This is not who I am, this is what I do." He could have fooled me. His entire body, his entire soul melt with his electric sound when he plays. It's one in a trinity. I love the inviting, unpretentious yet artistic approach of this documentary, its inner joie de vivre. It would not have been difficult to disappoint a Carlos Santana admirer, either with too much or too little. Here, there is a balanced joy, and one leaves the theater, at least for a moment, at peace with oneself.

A in depth dive on the music, mans and and everything related to great rock music. Worth a watch If you love Santana even just the hits.

Great movie! Sad that not one poster advertising this movie or listed on board in what room. Needed to refer to our tickets. Sad that only 4 watching this movie on a Friday night.

It was interesting to find out about his early life in Tijuana.

very interesting and enlightening documentary movie!

We liked the first part, where he discusses his father's music, how he started on violin, played in Tijuana and came to believe his destiny was with the guitar. It was good to hear and see him playing through the years. We would have liked to hear more about the influences on his music, and the musicians he played with and who played with him. More in-depth discussion of his respect for jazz and its icons. My favorite lines: when Santana goes from Island Records to Clive Davis, he tells Davis he wants to "connect the molecules with the light" in his usual spirtual and space-y way. Davis translates: when Carlos says that he means "I want a hit on the radio!!