Carlos Santana...on Woodstock

“It was the same as seeing kids on Harlem River Drive on the hottest day in the summer, and somebody opens up a fire hydrant with cold water. It was just glee!

“We came on full on with congas, and the audience was like, “Oh, this is like being at Hippie Hill or at the [Central Park] fountain in New York.” And you get to smoke weed, and you get to hear congas and music that makes you celebrate, not think about fear or Vietnam or Nixon or whatever.

“That was a beautiful thing that I’ll hold true ‘til the day I leave this planet. I witnessed, with my own eyes and my heart, that people can get along, with unity and harmony. No fights. Share granola or a blanket or whatever. I got to see that humans are capable to coexist with benevolence. That’s why we’re still talking about Woodstock, man.”

—The New York Times, (08/06/19)