Carlos Santana, headliner at The Joint at Hard Rock

By Jerry Fink

Thursday, June 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Carlos Santana has settled into his residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

What does being honored by the American Immigration Law Foundation mean to you?

It means that I came to the United States like most people on this planet — unless you are an American Indian — and I was able to give back. I like to think that I’m a person who makes a difference on this planet.

What is your position on immigration?

I still think there is a lot of fear with racism. I don’t think we treat Canadians, Australians or Irish or German people the same way we treat people right next to our southern borders.

Are the reactions to your show positive?

The reaction has been gloriously positive. People can see the genuineness. I’m able to invite people to perceive there are only two forces on this planet, love and fear. It’s which one you invest in. We believe it is more profitable to invest in love because when you invest in fear, ask Bush and Cheney how expensive that was.

Are you pressured to focus on hits?

I look at the music like I’m a chef and people want to hear certain things they heard at a certain time in their lives — when they fell in love or they got married. I do my best to create that environment. In the middle of the set I can be spontaneous and take, as Wayne Shorter would say, take a backward flip into the unknown where the band doesn’t know where I’m going.

Are you celebrating the 40th anniversary of Woodstock?

I tried to do something about a year and a half ago and nobody wanted to do it, and now it’s too late. I already booked myself. I’m bringing my own Woodstock wherever I go.

Do you still sponsor a race car?

No. After “Supernatural,” a lot of sisters and brothers wanted to join with me, whether it’s restaurants or shoes or all kinds of ways. I basically took all of that energy, which people call money, to help other people. I grew up listening to B.B. King, Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Tito Puente, but at the same time my heart and my eyes were with Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Cesar Chavez. So I just combined them.