Salsa Icon Week: 4th - Gilberto Santa Rosa: 'The Gentleman of Salsa'

Born: August 21, 1962 in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Quote from Gilberto Santa Rosa: "One of my goals is to perform the first Salsa Symphony that would tour the world."

Trivia: An ardent fan of Tito Rodriguez, Santa Rosa has acquired an extensive collection of Rodriguez memorabilia, including clothing, music and furniture.

Early Years: Gilberto Santa Rosa grew up in the Santurce area of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital. Always interested in music, Santa Rosa performed his first professional concert at age 14 with the help of his teacher, Mario Ortiz.

Lead Tenor: In 1976 Santa Rosa made his recording debut as a backup singer with the Mario Ortiz Orchestra and soon after became the lead singer for La Grande Orchestra, followed by a stint with the Puerto Rican All-Stars in 1979. During the 1980’s he also recorded with the orchestras of Tommy Olivencia, Willie Rosario and El Gran Combo.

Gilberto Santa Rosa Orchestra: Forming his own band in 1986, he signed with Combo Records and went on to record a continuous string of hits, including “De Amor Y Salsa", “Vivir Sin Ella” and “Good Vibration”. 

Carnegie Hall: In 1990 Santa Rosa signed with CBS Sony (Sony Discos), where his first album, Punto de Vista, went platinum, and which contains the classic “Vivir Sin Ella”. He followed up with another hit album, Perspectiva in 1991. In 1995, Santa Rosa became the first Puerto Rican singer of tropical music to perform at Carnegie Hall.

And the Hits Go On: 1996 saw the release of Expresion, followed by Romantica in 2001 and Viceversa in 2002 which went on to become a hit in Latin communities from the US through all of Latin America. Many albums followed after with more Salsa Hits.

A True "Sonero": A sonero is an improvising salsa singer, and Santa Rosa is considered one of the true ‘soneros” of his generation. He is known for his exceptional interpretation of ‘salsa romantica’ as well as a great singer of the “tropical” style of music.