Space Between the Stars
Page 28
BB: How did the writing of the book affect your own thoughts and beliefs?
DS: My writing made me stand up for what I believe is right for women, equal access to everything in life: education, managerial jobs, and equal pay; autonomy in relationships; and the importance of the female voice. Because of the enormous body of Carlos's musical work, I had to step out in conviction that my writing was an important artistic expression. Carlos's success was a significant block to making time for myself. We had concentrated our collective energies on his career, and it consumed us both.
BB: Can you explain your creative process?
DS: I am a morning person. It is when words flow from my heart and mind with ease and determination. I create new work in the morning and edit during the day and evening. As I began my memoir when our three children were in elementary school, I had to develop schedules that allowed me this time to create.
BB: What writers have influenced your work?
DS: I've been lucky to work with two very strong writers who pushed and pulled writing from inside of me. Melba Patillo Beals taught me structure and dramatic voice; Natalie Goldberg taught me writing practice and the freedom of expressing myself without the inner editorial critic. Both of these teachers influenced my writing by giving me skills with which to improve my craft.
Other writers I love to read are Isabel Allende, Barbara Kingsolver, Sara Paretsky (my mom made me addicted to mysteries), Alice Walker, Pearl Cleage, Studs Terkel, Dr. Maya Angelou, and poets Ruth Forman and Mary Oliver.
BB: Have you studied writing, or is it something you've pursued on your own?
DS: I studied at several different universities with professors of creative writing, and I have taken quite a few workshops and night courses.
BB: You're also very involved in philanthropic work. Does Space Between the Stars address that?
DS: This memoir particularly addresses my coming of age in all of my transitions, and the nuances of being a biracial citizen of this very exclusive country. Our Milagro Foundation is one of the most important works of my life—funding agencies that serve children around the world in the areas of art, health, and education—but I do not write about this work in Space Between the Stars. I will write about this in my next memoir.
BB: Is another book in the works? What will the focus be?
DS: I am writing it now. The focus is a vignette-style memoir with a more in-depth study of my experiences with friends, philanthropy, and my family. In this work I hope to concentrate on the past ten years, which I addressed briefly in Space Between the Stars.
BB: Who has most influenced you?
DS: My parents are first because of their attention to truth and unswerving integrity, through their bravery to stand up to racism, and their deep love for each other and my sister and me. In the context of culture, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. set me on the path of equality and rebellion against falsehood by using nonviolence. I have sought influence from spiritual teachers such as Buddha, Mother Teresa, and Gandhi. Their words of courage and higher knowledge have allowed me to believe that change can occur on this earth to help people live in freedom, even though it is usually at great personal cost.
BB: How did you learn to manage a restaurant? A band?
DS: I was twenty-two when we opened Dipti Nivas, our vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. I read books about management, but really just used my own common sense and determination to create a business structure that succeeded. I had the advice of accountants, but it was the wisdom of my paternal grandmother, passed down through my mother's teachings of ethical principles and honesty, that were the foundation of my business. We learned as we went along, and about three years into our business I enrolled in a restaurant management class at UC Berkeley Extension that was very helpful when we remodeled and in our growth. Our restaurant was very popular for ten years.
Managing Santana was born of necessity. I had watched other managers for twenty years; the best and most radical was Bill Graham. His management was unorthodox and many of the people who worked for him did not have much more business education than me. In the ten years Carlos and I have managed Santana, we have relied on our lawyers and accountant to guide us in contracts and areas outside our expertise. Our specialty is working as hard as we can with the intention to produce the most beautiful music possible.
BB: What is the Milagro Foundation?
DS:The Milagro Foundation is our nonprofit, which we started in 1998. We have two part-time employees who run the foundation. Its mission is to serve children around the world who are underserved and underrepresented in the areas of health, education, and the arts. Carlos and I believe that children are innocent angels who often are born into families that cannot protect them or send them out into the world with the best tools to succeed. Milagro seeks to fill in the gaps by funding agencies that provide tools and skills to help children's lives improve and their creativity and health excel.
BB:Your role?
DS: I am the vice president and spokesperson for our foundation. I love these children as my own and advocate for them every day. We make site visits to interact with our grantees, and this changes my life. Truly, this is my passion.
BB: Have you learned any lessons from your three children?
DS: I have learned that I cannot be hurt by love. I have learned that their souls are independent of Carlos and me, and I have seen them grow in wisdom that teaches me to trust they are just where they are supposed to be in this life. Salvador has taught me that people have more in common than they have differences, and to respect every person's unique purpose. He has given us the music that lived in my father and Carlos's father and taken it to a higher level. Stella has taught me that fire can dance in a young woman's eyes and that she can protect herself. She exudes brilliance by being sure of who she is. Angelica has taught me that living your art will bring more fulfillment than conforming to society's structure of learned information. They have all taught me that opening my heart to set them free is my greatest job as a parent.
READING GROUP QUESTIONS AND
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. In the first chapter, Deborah Santana discovers that her family is different from other families. Why is this such a shock to her?
2. Discuss how Deborah's and Kitsaun's parents provided love and security when the world offered them uncertainty and nonacceptance. Many people who read Space Between the Stars feel that they know Kitsaun well. How do you feel?
3. What do you think drew Deborah to Sly? How did this relationship lead her astray from her goals?
4. Deborah had life-shattering experiences while in Los Angeles—discuss what she learned from them.
5. Do you know anyone who has been physically abused? Do you feel compassion for these women or anger at them? Why?
6. Deborah met Carlos Santana three months after she leaves Los Angeles. Were you nervous about her becoming involved with another musician? Did you trust her spiritual awareness to be true to herself?
7. How do you feel about Deborah's journey with Sri Chin-moy? What did she learn about herself? What did she learn about God's presence?
8. Through managing the Dipti Nivas vegetarian restaurant, Deborah regained confidence in her intelligence and business skills. What significance did this hold for her when she faced the challenge of Carlos's touring and infidelity? How would you react when faced with a similar challenge?
9. Have you ever pushed yourself beyond what you thought you could do? How did Deborah feel after she completed the New York City Marathon? Did this strengthen her to leave the meditation path?
10. Saunders King, Deborah's father, was a pillar of strength in her life. What did his life teach her?
11. Space Between the Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart—what do you think is the significance of the title and the subtitle?
About the Author
DEBORAH SANTANA is vice president and chief operations officer of the Santana Band, and has been managing the band full-time with
Carlos Santana since 1994. She is also vice president of the Milagro Foundation, which was started by the Santana family and which has given almost $2 million to charities and nonprofit agencies that support children and youth in the areas of health, education, and the arts. She has been married since 1973 to Grammy-winning musician Carlos Santana. In 2000 she received the UCLA César E. Chávez Spirit Award, which honors individuals who have continued to pursue Chávez's vision of social justice. In 2004 she received a “Women of Distinction” Award from the Founder Region Soroptimist International Organization for her work with the Milagro Foundation, and in September she and Carlos received the Youth AIDS award for their commitment to fighting the AIDS pandemic in South Africa. For more information about the Milagro Foundation, please visit www.milagrofoundation.org
About the Type
This book was set in Perpetua, a typeface designed by the English artist Eric Gill, and cut by The Monotype Corporation between 1928 and 1930. Perpetua is a contemporary face of original design, without any direct historical antecedents. The shapes of the roman letters are derived from the techniques of stonecutting. The larger display sizes are extremely elegant and form a most distinguished series of inscriptional letters.
Copyright © 2005 by Cadestansa, LLC
Reading group guide copyright © 2006 by Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by One World Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
ONE WORLD is a registered trademark and the One World colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
READER'S CIRCLE and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Santana, Deborah, 1951–
Space between the stars : a memoir / by Deborah Santana.—
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-54715-6
1. Santana, Deborah, 1951– 2. Santana, Carlos. 3. Rock musicians—United States—Biography. 4. Musicians' spouses—Biography. I. Title.
ML420.S226A3 2005
787.87′164′092—dc22 2004050146
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