Veteran rocker CARLOS SANTANA and his wife are launching a chain of Mexican restaurants in the US.

The 59-year-old and his spouse DEBORAH will open the Maria Maria chain’s first three restaurants by June.

Named after Santana’s 2000 song, the eateries will all be located nearby the Santanas’ home in Marin County, California – in Walnut Creek, Mill Valley and Santa Rosa.

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The Super Bowl has always been as much about the halftime music performances as it is about who gets to flash their championship rings for the next 12 months. Now you can get a taste of what’s to come in January five months earlier when the National Football League kicks the season off by bringing music and football even closer together.

On Sept. 8, ABC will broadcast an hour-long ?NFL Opening Kickoff 2005? special, which will feature performances by Green Day, Santana, Kanye West, Maroon 5, and taped footage from the current Rolling Stones tour. The live performances will take place in three cities to highlight the history of the big championship game.

Fans of West and Maroon 5 will be able to see the Grammy winners perform for free outside the Los Angeles Coliseum, where the first Super Bowl was held.

Meanwhile, Green Day and Santana will play at the home of last year?s Bowl winners, the New England Patriots, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Right after, Trisha Yearwood is slated to sing the National Anthem before the season opener, which pits the Patriots against the Oakland Raiders.

Finally, the Stones clips will come from their Aug. 31 concert in Detroit.

The special will be hosted by actor Freddie Prinze, Jr., who stars in ?Freddie,? a new ABC sitcom premiering this fall.

The “NFL Opening Kickoff” has become a bit of a tradition ever since 2002?s first kickoff event in New York with Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Alicia Keys, and Eve. Last year?s show featured mega-stars Destiny?s Child, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Toby Keith and Lenny Kravitz.

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