Santana proposes to Blackman onstage

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LOS ANGELES, July 12 (UPI) -- Musician and philanthropist Carlos Santana proposed to drummer Cindy Blackman onstage during a concert in Tinley Park, Ill.

The proposal took place Friday at the Midwest Bank Amphitheatre.

Santana popped the question four songs into the show on the Chicago-area stop on his Universal Tone Tour 2010. The romantic gesture followed Blackman's virtuoso drum solo on the Santana hit "Corazon Espinado." After she accepted, the just-engaged couple kissed and the audience broke into cheers, Santana's representatives said in a news release Monday.

"Cindy and I are blessed to have found each other," Santana said in a statement. "Being in love is a gift from the universe, and the spirit and vibrations that come with it are infinitely powerful. I look forward to expressing that incredible energy through my music, and in helping to tip the balance toward more love in the world with what Cindy and I share."

Santana's engagement to Blackman comes almost two months into the first leg of the Universal Tone Tour 2010, with North American dates featuring Steve Winwood as opener.