San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Santanas celebrated in Mission mural
Carlos, Jorge’s musical legacy honored outside BART’s 24th Street plaza
Under a canopy of papel picado and the groove of electric guitars and congas, San Francisco’s Mission District celebrated the lives and legacies of musicians Carlos and Jorge Santana and their family, enshrining them as local legends with the unveiling of a vibrant mural Friday.
The musicians, best known for Latin rock groups Santana and Malo, put down roots in the Mission in the 1960s, bringing with them from Mexico a passion for their craft and a willingness to make San Francisco their own, family members and officials said at the ceremony.
“Because of their vision and desire to be a part of this, we are the beneficiaries of their spirit, of their love, of their musical genius that has touched the lives of so many people,” Mayor London Breed said, standing in front of the freshly painted mural in the plaza above the 24th Street Mission BART Station.
The mural, the latest in the Mission’s famous collection, depicts brothers Carlos and Jorge Santana jamming on their guitars; their parproject.
ents, Jose and Josefina; and Carlos’ son Salvador, who continues the family’s musical tradition. It features traditional Mexican and Mayan iconography, including pyramids, cacti and a Mayan calendar.
The artwork was designed by Jorge Santana, guitarist of the San Francisco rock group Malo, who died in May 2020. The mural was dedicated to him, and family members and friends spoke fondly of him and his enduring legacy in the rock world and within the Mission.
“Jorge is here, and he’s smiling down upon us,” said Lisa Brewer, who developed and supervised the mural “He was a beautiful spirit.”
The mural was painted over the course of the past year by artists Mark Bode and Crayone. It is based on a sketch design provided by Jorge Santana and Randolph Bowes, officials said.
There were musical performances, speeches and dances in honor of Jorge Santana and his family. The plaza above the BART station was the perfect location for the mural, officials said, because it has been the site of countless events and demonstrations, and was where Jorge Santana used to busk with his brothers and friends.
“You belong in the Mission, you belong in San Francisco, and you belong in our hearts,” Brice Peoples, an assistant deputy chief with the San Francisco Fire Department, said to the Santanas in attendance.
Salvador Santana, a singer and keyboard player who occasionally played shows with his uncle Jorge, said he was honored by the tribute and by the way the Mission had welcomed his family over the years.
“It’s not about me, it’s not even about (Jorge); it’s about the familia Santana and la Misión!” he said to a roaring audience.
Carlos Santana, the international rock icon with 10 Grammy Awards to his name, thanked the Mission community for its support and pledged to make the celebration a yearly tradition. He said he wanted to organize an annual ceremony, parade and concert at Chase Center to raise money to feed low-income residents of the Mission and several Mexican cities.
He said he is interested in founding a community center in the Mission called SW — short for “self worth” — for people in need of shelter, food or other resources, to help them become “a pillar of light.”
He emphasized the importance of community, love and growth, and praised his mother for leading the Santana household and instilling valuable life lessons in him and his siblings as they grew up in the Bay Area.
“From ’62 to ’69, this was it,” he said of the Mission. “It was mainly here that I conjured the vision of being a multidimensional worldwide musician.”
“Jorge is here, and he’s smiling down upon us. He was a beautiful spirit.”
Lisa Brewer, supervisor of the mural project, designed by Jorge Santana