Gilberto Santa Rosa

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Gilberto Santa Rosa

Background information
Birth name	Gilberto Santa Rosa
Born	August 21, 1962 (1962-08-21) (age 45)
Genre(s)	Salsa, Bolero
Years active	1976—Present

Giberto Santa Rosa, also known as "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a singer of salsa, bolero, and bandleader.

1 Early years
2 Singing career
3 Recent years
4 Discography
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Early years

Santa Rosa was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, a city on the north eastern part of the Island. Here he received his primary and secondary education and became interested in music. He took part in his first concert whilst a teenager and in 1976, he made his recording debut as a backup singer with the Mario Ortiz Orchestra; soon afterwards he was recruited by La Grande Orchestra, where he became the lead singer. He remained with the orchestra for two years, during which time he met Elias Lopes who helped to mold and polish him as a singer. ^[1]

[edit] Singing career

During the 1980s, he recorded "Homenaje a Eddie Palmieri" (Tribute to Eddie Palmieri) with the Puerto Rican All Stars. He also recorded with various orchestras, amongst them:

Santa Rosa developed a unique style of "soneo" (improvisation) in salsa that permitted him to be successful in both the "tropical" and "romantic" styles of the music. ^[2]

In 1986, Santa Rosa formed his own band and signed with Combo Records; a string of hits followed, such as:

"Good Vibration",
"De Amor y Salsa" (Of Love and Salsa),
"Punto de Vista" (Point of View),
"Vivir Sin Ella" (Living without Her) and
"Perspectiva".

Santa Rosa was also the first singer of tropical salsa to carry out a concert at the Carnegie Hall Theater, in New York, where he performed as the opening number, his unique version of the salsa tune, "Represento" (I Represent), composed by Lou Briel. This event was recorded Live at the hall, and later released as an album. ^[3]

In 1990, Santa Rosa joined the all star "La Puertoriqueña" project which included Andy Montañez; in the same year he was awarded the Billboard Lo Nuestro Award for Best Male Singer. He also participated in the play "La Pareja Dispareja" (The Odd Couple) alongside Luis Vigoreaux and Rafo Muñiz. In 1995, Santa Rosa traveled to Japan as Puerto Rico's Good Will Ambassader, where he sang "De Cara al Viento" (Facing the Wind) in Japanese. In 1996, he recorded "Caballero de la Salsa, Vol 2" and he also participated in the First "Festival Presidente" in the Dominican Republic (a Latin music festival sponsored by local Presidente beer). In 1997, he sang with Andy Montañez in New Yorks Lincoln Center and later that year, with Olga Tañon at the Universal Studios Amphitheater in Hollywood, California.^[2]

Santa Rosa's hits continued with the album "Expresion" which included the single "Fulana" (What's her name) and in 2001 with the album "Romantico". He released "Viceversa" in 2002 which became a "hit" in the Latin community in the United States and in all of Latin-America.^[1]

[edit] Recent years

Santa Rosa has taken on himself the task of keeping Tito Rodriguez's musical legacy alive and has acquired much of Tito's memorabilia, including articles of clothing, music and furniture from his home in Puerto Rico. Santa Rosa has staged several concerts and dances honoring the late singer, and recorded an album of his where with the use of modern technology, he sings "En la Soledad" (In Solitude), composed by Puchi Balseiro in a duet with him . During the week of February 24, 2003 Santa Rosa organized a two-night concert at the Center of the Performing Arts in Caguas, Puerto Rico. As an introduction to the event, he arranged for his private collection of Tito Rodríguez memorabilia to be exhibited in the lobby of the center. In 2004, he released "Autentico".^[4]

In addition, he has long played an important role in the career of his friend and protege, Victor Manuelle, who Santa Rosa discovered. The two released a joint live album late in 2005, "Dos Soneros, Una Historia." In 2006, he released, "Directo Al Corazon", and in 2007 he carried out a concert acknowledged by the critics, in Plaza Colón at Santo Domingo and released Contraste with Conteo Regresivo being a major album hit. Furthermore, he performs alongside Chucho Avellanet, a musical comedy club-act called, Cantando y Contando, (Singing & Telling Stories), throughout the island.^[5]

On February 9, 2008 Santa Rosa participated in an event named "Concierto del amor" which was organized in the Madison Square Garden.^[6] In June 2008, "Contraste" received Gold and Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.^[7] According to the organization, the production has sold over 1,500,000 copies.^[7] At the moment of certification, the album's first single "Conteo regresive" had been sixteen weeks in the first place among Billboard's tropical list.^[7] Meanwhile "No te vayas" began gaining possitions in the same list. After participating in New York City's Puerto Rican Day Parade, Santa Rosa prepared to begin a international tour begining on June 13, 2008, in New Orleans before proceeding to Tampa, Florida, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, Colombia and Mexico.^[7]