Reflecting on childhood trauma, Mexican-American rocker Carlos Santana shares how his journey to finding peace and acceptance "truly felt sacred."
"I've learned to look at all the people who have ever tried to hurt me, put me down or make me feel less than, like they're 5 or 6 years old and I can look at them with understanding and compassion," he told People in an interview published on June 15.
Carlos Santana shares how he found peace and forgave the man who sexually abused him as a child
"Like the person who sexually abused me, instead of sending him to hell forever, I visualize him as a child and behind him is a lot of light. I can bring him to the light or send him to hell. If I send him to hell, I will go with him. But if I send him to the light, I will go with him," Santana added.
Carlos Santana (75 years old) revealed that changing his perspective on life led him to the path of forgiving his abuser.
"There is a saying, 'Hurt those who hurt you.' But if you open your arms and let it go, you won't feel it anymore," he said.
Santana's revelation comes days before the Tribeca Film Festival premieres of a new documentary called Carlos , which provides more details about his iconic life and music career.
Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana
The legendary guitarist first spoke about his childhood sexual abuse in a 2000 interview.
Carlos Santana told Rolling Stone that he was abused “almost every day” between the ages of 10 and 12 by an American man who would cross the border and bring him gifts. It eventually ended when Santana fell in love with a girl and his abuser became jealous.
"For the first time I saw him clearly for who he was: a very mentally ill person," Santana said at the time.
Carlos Santana at age 12
The artist later told the Guardian in 2014 that his abuser was a tourist who was a friend of his parents.
"I was the victim but my parents kept hearing that I intentionally made it happen. This stayed in my mind for a very, very long time," Carlos Santana recalled.
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