After derogatory statements he made during a recent performance went viral, Carlos Santana apologized to the LGBTQ community before deleting his statement.
“I apologize for my offensive remarks. They don’t accurately reflect my desire to appreciate and cherish everyone’s goals and views. Although I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, I now recognize that what I said did. The singer of “Maria Maria” issued a message on his Facebook page on Thursday that was later taken down on Friday in which he expressed his heartfelt regret to the transgender community and to everyone else he had insulted.
The 76-year-old Santana stated, “This is my personal goal, which I work toward every day. Whether someone is LGBTQ or not, I want to appreciate and honor their values. We have all been given the gift of free will in this world. Now that I have that as my aim, I will work toward everyone believing what they desire and following their hearts without fear. Being truthful, genuine, and authentic requires guts, as does learning to grow and shine in the light that you already are. As we develop, we learn to show our light in a loving and complimentary way. Enjoy a great life. Peace.”
A new Facebook post from Friday said, “The energy of awareness generates its own sort. Love breeds love; hatred breeds hatred.
In June, while performing in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was caught on camera telling his crowd that some gender expressions and identities “ain’t right.” He later issued an apology. Video of Santana’s remarks, which were widely denounced for being anti-trans, started making the rounds on social media on Thursday.
He said at the time, “God made you and I, before we came out of the womb, and you know who you are as well as what you are.” Later, as you get older, you start to notice things and begin to think you might be something that sounds fantastic, but you know it’s not right. Considering that a man is a man and a woman is a woman. I’m done now. Whatever you choose to do in the closet is entirely up to you. That’s fine with me.
Santana made the contentious remarks at a time when LGBTQ+ people are still subjected to prejudice all around the country. According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 13 U.S. states have passed anti-LGBTQ legislation, and another 23 states have proposed similar proposals in 2022 alone. Many of these laws target transgender children and care that is gender-affirming.
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has intensified his attacks on trans youngsters by ordering the Department of Family and Protective Services to look into allegations of child abuse against parents who gave their children care that was gender-affirming. Since then, similar laws have been implemented in Florida and Alabama.
During Transgender Day of Visibility in March 2022 and 2023, President Joe Biden vowed his support for trans people, and he has since persisted in urging Congress to enact the Equality Act.
A potential landmark decision that could ensure access to gender-affirming care was made by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last August, which stated that people with gender dysphoria are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed in 1990.
In June, Santana spoke about how he met his wife, jazz musician Cindy Blackman Santana, and said to PEOPLE that “love is unconditional.” “I needed a queen to come home to share this, I thought to God as I was praying and thinking. Love is unconditional, and I want to be loved and to grow alongside someone, he said. “And the next thing I know, Cindy shows here. Cindy strolled with the assurance of a woman from New York. I thought, “Damn.
The “Black Magic Woman” performer and Cindy, 63, got married at the Ritz-Carlton in Maui, Hawaii, in December of that same year after being engaged onstage in July 2010.