Carlos Santana Sound of the Heart, Song of the World - a review

Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World
By Gary Golio
Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
Christy Ottaviano, 2018

"Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico

     It's 1947, in a town with only dirt roads and mud houses.

     There are no electric lights, but electricity crackles in the air as a child is born—a little boy whose aunt calls him cristalino, someone clear and bright, destined to make a mark in this world. 

     The boy's name is Carlos Santana, and his mark will be made with lightning, 

on the ears of the wind!"

A fitting beginning to a book about one the world's most unique and innovative guitar players.  As with all of the text in the book, the above is printed in a small font, nestled artfully against the dreamy, surrealist, mixed-media illustrations by the renowned, Rudy Gutierrez.  All of the images are double-spreads. Though the book chronicles Santana's life only through his boyhood in Mexico, the artwork is a mix of Mexican influences and those of the psychedelic era in which Carlos Santana came to great fame in the U.S. This perfectly complements  the narrative, which highlights Carlos' greatest influences—his family and the music of Mexico, and his stirring connection with American blues. Carlos Santana Sound of the Heart, Song of the World is an inspiring and uplifting picture book biography for older reader.

Cue up some Santana on your Spotify account and enjoy! Peace.

You know it's a cool book when it's covered on WMMR out of Philadelphia.  Listen to an interview with author Gary Golio that aired on WMMR in October.

View four interior spreads from Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World at the publisher's website.


My copy of Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World was provided by the publisher.