The glitz and glamor of The Strip in Vegas masks a reality that Las Vegas shares with too many other American cities - a population of people who live on the streets. Carlos Santana does not want to '...tell people who to be, what to do or how to do it', but he does want to help provide resources so that homeless people in Las Vegas have options and opportunities that are not available to them now. Citing the good work that tennis great Andre Agassi has done by leveraging his name and recognition to raise money for schools that offer college preparatory schooling for kids that would otherwise have little or no chance at a higher education, the guitar legend says also he plans on '...reaching out to the people with deep pockets and beautiful hearts' by staging annual benefit concerts to raise funds to support housing and programs for those living on the streets. A recent personal experience may have inspired Santana. A San Francisco TV reporter happened across an original member of the 1960's Santana Blues Band while doing a story on the homeless on the streets of Oakland (story). He contacted the guitarist and arranged a meeting of the two. Santana has since provided Marcus Malone an apartment and will invite the conga player to Henderson, Nevada in February when most of the original members of Santana reconvene to start recording a new album that harks back to the early 70's sound of the group (story).
LasVegasSun.com
