John Santos is a celebrated Latin Jazz musician, band leader, seven-time Grammy nominee, and one of the directors of the San Francisco Jazz Center. Beyond being a highly accomplished musician, he’s also an academic and community and political activist who uses Afro-Latin music to educate others about his heritage and the genre’s historical roots. In the lively and music-filled documentary Santos – Skin to Skin, we learn all about John Santos and his lifelong dedication to championing and celebrating music.

Sitting for the camera, as well as being followed through various parts of his life (handheld cameras allow us to follow him everywhere), Santos shares his story directly with us. As soon as he speaks–in a soft but spiritually grounded voice–you can feel his inner warmth and wisdom come through. It’s amazing to hear the way John talks about music as well as life, making the connection that when he plays, he “awakens the ancestors.”

A native of Oakland, California, Santos grew up in the progressive lifestyle that the 1960s San Francisco offered, inclusive of the many races and sexual orientations that lived within his community. That, along with the legendary rock acts that rose to fame in the area (among them Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Carlos Santana) inspired John to pursue music and art and love, learning to play the congas and timbales (even playing in Santana’s band for a short stretch).

But Santos wasn’t drawn towards pursuing classic rock stardom and fame. Instead, as Santos – Skin to Skin shows, he followed his curiosity of learning more about his people’s musical roots: Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music. He learned about the music’s connection to its peoples’ history, and specifically its connection to Colonial history. Specifically, drumming–the instrument he was drawn towards–was an expression of the pain felt from oppression, slavery, and injustice. 

It’s powerful to hear the connection that John makes between the two types of “skin” in music: both the human body and the impact of its various skin colors, as well as the material that wraps drums. When conga players hit these drums with their hands, a beautiful and direct connection between skins occurs. Conga players channel the struggle and fight that the ancestors lived through, and are being expressed today to new audiences.

This deeply felt connection is what formed Santos not just as a musician, but also as an activist. In concerts and in classrooms, he talks about conflicts that exist in so many societies, even within the Afro-Latin music world amongst LatinX and African American groups. As Santos says, “The drums and rhythms are a  beautiful blend that shows how music can unite people.”

Santos’ life sounds like one of pure musical magic, but we also learn about the personal pains that he endured too. We learn about the death of his young daughter at one-month-old. As his wife shares, Santos transferred his grief into music, seeking out folklore and his ancestors to better understand the relationship between life and death. It’s a touching sentiment that he imparted onto his family, including a young son and daughter.

Besides learning about art, spirituality, and philosophy that Santos shares, what makes Santos – Skin to Skin such a rewarding movie is that it celebrates a figure who has done so much for the community and world without looking for personal recognition. Santos is candid in saying that his decision to forgo commercial aspirations so as to champion political issues has also left him with lesser fame and financial success. A scene of him and his family packaging up CDs into letters to send out to various press outlets reveals that he is also the person who promotes the music of his people, having devoted thousands of hours in his career to keep the Afro-Caribbean flame alive.

Santos – Skin to Skin is a celebratory portrait of John Santos, whose role in playing music is as important as his documenting it. It’s how we learn “who we are,” and “the basics about life.” This portrait and music documentary is sure to inspire you to learn more about international music, or at the very least, to get up and dance.

75 minutes.