It's official, legendary philanthropist and Grammy winner Carlos Santana has proposed to his girlfriend, respected drummer, Cindy Blackman. The "will you marry me," came onstage four songs into Santana's concert at Tinley Park in Chicago. Santana stopped the music to pop the question, and the 50-year-old jazz drummer accepted with a kiss, causing the enthusiastic concert crowd to go wild with heartfelt claps and cheers. Santana said that love is a gift from the universe, and the powerful spirit and vibrations that love creates will be expressed by he and Cindy through their music in hopes of bringing greater love to the world.

Cindy Blackman has gained recognition as one of the top, hottest drummers in the world and has performed in front of millions of concert goers. She is well known for her eleven year stint as the drummer with retro rocker Lenny Kravitz and his band. Cindy has also performed with renowned jazz singers including Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson, Hugh Masekela, Cassandra Wilson, Angela Boffill, Buckethead, Bill Laswell and more.

Blackman released a drumming instructional video, "Multiplicity" in 1998. Since then, she has released several widely acclaimed solo albums, including "Someday" and "Works on Canvas".

Following July and August performances at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is Las Vegas, Santana will take The Universal Tone Tour to Europe sometime late September 2010. Santana is also preparing to release his first studio album in six years, "Guitar Heaven: Santana Performs the Greatest Guitar Classics of all Time".

Santana's marriage of 34 years to Deborah (King) Santana ended in 2007. The couple has three children: Stella, Angelica and Salvador. Deborah is the daughter of Saunders King, the late guitarist and blues singer.

Wedding plans for Santana and Blackman have not been released.