Carlos Santana speaks out in Peru against Iraq war and Bush

Guitarist Carlos Santana quoted his old friend Jimi Hendrix to give an anti-war message Monday and said his philosophy is the antithesis of U.S. President George W. Bush's.

Photo: Carlos Santana speaks out in Peru against Iraq war and Bush

"I have wisdom. I feel love. I live in the present and I try to present a dimension that brings harmony and healing," the 58-year-old rock icon said. "My concept is the opposite of George W. Bush."

Santana, speaking to Peruvian journalists ahead of a Tuesday concert, said young people's opposition to the war in Iraq is reaching the dimensions of the anti-Vietnam war sentiment in the 1970s.

"There is more value in placing a flower in a rifle barrel than making war," he said. "As Jimi Hendrix used to say, musical notes have more importance than bullets."

The tour was Santana's third to Peru; in 1971 he was prevented from performing by the left-wing military dictatorship of Gen. Juan Velasco, which deemed his music an "alienating" force. Santana returned to perform in 1995, reports AP.

O.Ch.