JoJo’s Bizarre Musical Adventure: Soul Sacrifice, Santana

Carlos Santana, the pioneer of the union between Latin jazz and rock and roll also has a reference in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. In order to avoid confusion, all references to the musician Santana will be italicised.

Santana’s Woodstock performance was what shot the act to stardom – it also went down as one of the most memorable Woodstock performances in history. At Woodstock 1969, Santana’s band was set to perform acts down from Grateful Dead. Thinking that they had plenty of time before their performance, they figured that taking the acid Jerry Garcia offered will be no big deal; they’d be fine to play at two in the morning if they were taking it at half past twelve in the afternoon. Two hours later however, they were rushed on stage and asked to play in front of an ocean of people. Santana had only one mantra playing in his head at that time:

“Just help me stay in tune and on time.”

Relying on muscle memory, he closed his eyes hoping that his fingers would automatically know what note to play when the band took to stage. And that’s exactly what happened.

The set that they played on that Saturday afternoon was nothing short of electrifying, especially “Soul Sacrifice.” That single set from a band that had not yet released a debut album catapulted Santana to fame.

In JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the main antagonists of Part Two: Battle Tendency are the Pillar Men. They are a race of primordial beings, possessing superhuman abilities. The Pillar Men are virtually invincible if not for two things- the rays of the sun and the power of the Ripple. The first of these ancient pillar men that Joseph Joestar encounters is Santana.

What’s that sound I hear coming from the ground

That’ going ’round and ’round I can feel it pull me down

On my knees tears of joy have come to me

As the flower sounds made it plain to see

That this world is a perfect place to live

JJBA’s Santana, funnily enough, is discovered slumbering inside a pillar in Mexico where the real Santana was born. Santana the Pillar Man has been around since 8000 BC. Left behind in Mexico by his brethren who went to find the Red Stone of Aja, Santana went into a deep sleep by infusing himself with the stone pillar. And there he would remain until the expedition led by Robert E.O. Speedwagon unearths him.

My house is dark, and my thoughts are cold

When the Nazis came across the Speedwagon expedition, they took the Pillar Man to an underground base where they tried to harness the powers of the Stone Mask. During their human experiment trials, the blood from the victims awoke Santana, absorbing one of the newly created vampires who was present in the cell. Realising that he’s being observed and kept in what is probably a hostile environment, Santana makes his next move.

Like all Pillar Men, one of Santana’s abilities is advanced body manipulation. He is capable of breaking as many bones as he wants in his own body and squeezing into a ventilation system that has very small dimensions.

I hear your name calling me out

Out from the barrio

You hear my rhythm on your radio

You feel the turning of the world, so soft and slow

It’s turning you round and round

When Santana went mainstream, he collaborated with a lot of musicians. In doing so he not only expanded the scope of his guitar but also the reach of his audience. “Smooth” is one of Santana’s most well known and most successful collaborations. Written by Itaal Shur and Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas, the song went on to win three Grammys and it really blends in the genres of Latin rock with Classic rock. 

In “Welcome,” he collaborated with English jazz guitar giant Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. Santana also collaborated with McLaughlin in Love Devotion Surrender, which was a tribute to John Coltrane. In McLaughlin’s solo album Electric Guitarist, Santana was among the collaborators, appearing in the track “Friendship.”

The Swing of Delight – released under the name Devadip Carlos Santana – features a first-rate lineup including Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. It was the last album he released under the name of Devadip as he left Sri Chinmoy’s circle after becoming disillusioned with the guru.

While the Pillar Man Santana was busy massacring the people in the observation room, Joesph Joestar was busy infiltrating the base trying to rescue Speedwagon. Joseph bursts into the scene and quickly figures out that Santana is unable to absorb him because of the Ripple. Taking matters into his hands he determines that he’s probably the only one who can try and take down the Pillar Man.

Don’t turn your back on me baby

Yes, don’t turn your back on me baby

You’re messin’ around with your tricks

Like Eric Clapton made Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” famous, Santana made Peter Green’s “Black Magic Woman” famous.

Santana’s second album Abraxas was even more pronounced with jazz elements. Abraxas was a fusion of jazz, psychedelic rock, Latin rock and blues, building on the foundations of their first album with a more refined sound. Abraxas’ “Oye Como Va” and “Black Magic Woman”/”Gypsy Queen” are some of Santana’s biggest hits. “Oye Como Va” originally was a cha-cha-chá written by Latin Jazz great Tito Puente in 1962, but it wasn’t until Santana put his spin on it that the song captured the public’s aural imagination by storm.

Joesph takes the fight with Santana outside, where he manages to trick Santana into falling down a well, thereby exposing him to the sun, turning Santana into stone. Santana is then taken by the Speedwagon foundation in order to be analyzed. At the end of the series Santana’s fate is unclear –  he’s turned to stone and immobile but still alive, lurking somewhere in the halls of the Speedwagon Foundation.  

Santana’s discography

“Soul Sacrifice” (Album: Santana, 1969)

“Stone Flower” (Album: Caravanserai, 1972)

“Evil Ways” (Album: Santana, 1969)

“Smooth” (Album: Supernatural, 1999)

“Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation”(Album: Caravanserai, 1972)

“Singing Winds, Crying Beasts”(Album: Abraxas, 1970)

“Oye Como Va”(Album: Abraxas, 1970)

“Se a Cabo”(Album: Abraxas, 1970)

“Samba Pa Ti”(Album: Abraxas, 1970)

“Primavera” (Album: Supernatural, 1999)

“Para los Rumberos”(Album: Santana III, 1971)