Santana: a giant in many fields
Manuel Santana was a giant of a man.
Were it not for his constant, warm smile and his love of people,
his sheer size might have made him an imposing presence.
But Santana was not just physically large. He was a man of giant
appetites, for family, friends, fine food and drink, the arts and
community activism. His life’s accomplishments were enough to make
any three people proud.
Santana: a giant in many fields
Manuel Santana was a giant of a man.
Were it not for his constant, warm smile and his love of people, his sheer size might have made him an imposing presence.
But Santana was not just physically large. He was a man of giant appetites, for family, friends, fine food and drink, the arts and community activism. His life’s accomplishments were enough to make any three people proud.
Santana died July 1 of complications from a brief illness. He was 81.
I scarcely knew Santana but no one who ever met him could not know him just a little. Santana had no room in his life for strangers and he counted everyone from farm workers to the area’s most prominent politicians among his friends.
The founder of Jardines de San Juan left the management of his restaurants to family members in 1989, in order to devote his life to art. At the time of his death, he was Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year, and his boldly colorful paintings remain on display at locations throughout the county.
Susan Botelho, manager of Jardines de San Juan, worked with Santana for 21 years.
“He was a great guy,” she said. “You’d sit down and say ‘hi’ and the next thing you’d be eating and drinking wine with him. He was just a very intelligent, well-spoken, soft kind of man. He was so intelligent, he could talk about anything. He was a great boss.”
Santana came to the restaurant business by an indirect route. Born in 1927 as the son of a Mexican immigrant, he grew up in Los Angeles shining shoes and collecting bottles to supplement the family’s modest income.
He attended Los Angeles State College with the intention of becoming a teacher, but quit in disgust over the educational system only six months before he would have completed his studies. It was during this time that one of his teachers encouraged him to enroll in art classes, and he landed a spot at the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County.
Married to his high school girlfriend, Alice Morales, he had two young sons, and economic realities prompted him to look for steadier work.
He moved to Santa Cruz in 1961, later establishing Manuel’s restaurant in Aptos and, later, Jardines in 1975. He built his own home in 1963, a three-story glass walled structure on Santana Lane in Aptos.
“What can I say? He was a very incredible man,” remembered Carlos Ortiz of Hollister, who worked with Santana for 24 years. “He taught me pretty much everything I know about life. He was incredible.”
Ortiz recalled that the lush gardens surrounding the San Juan restaurant were all the work of Santana, whose fascination with cactus and succulents resulted in a stunning collection of rare plants. Bay area succulent growers gather regularly at the restaurant for exhibitions and sales.
But the plants were only one of Santana’s passions.
He worked for farmworkers’ rights, and he labored for rural economic development throughout the Central Coast. Jardines de San Juan regularly hosted events for his favorite causes.
He served the University of California, Santa Cruz as founder of the Martin Luther King Committee, participated on the U.C. Water Resources Advisory Board, was a UCSC fellow for Merrill College and was on the board of the Bear Republic Theater Company.
Santana donated space for El Teatro Campesino’s first home and was a leader in establishing the now-famous Cabrillo Music Festival, serving six terms as its president. It was through Santana’s efforts that the festival brought performances to Mission San Juan Bautista.
“He was an extraordinary man,” Ortiz said. “He always taught me, if you’re good to people, if you’re honest with people, they’ll always return it.”
