SANTANA SPEAKS

I have attended three Carlos Santana concerts and have always respected him as a musician, but I was surprised by the narrow-minded nature of some of his comments (“He Never Lets Up,” by Ernesto Lechner, Aug. 9).

Unfortunately, artists occasionally reveal shallow biases when asked to comment on the work of their contemporaries. Offering opinions of newer bands, Santana says he doesn’t “like people from Seattle too much, because they still sound white to me.” Carlos sounds a bit color obsessed.

I’m reminded of a similarly intellectual comment Madonna made several years ago. Asked what she thought of heavy metal music, the material girl opined, “Axl Rose doesn’t have any muscle tone.”

Come on, Carlos, I know you can do better than that.

ARTHUR WHEELAN

Newport Beach