Gilberto Santa Rosa
, also known as "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican singer of salsa, bolero, and bandleader.
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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]
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 the
Tommy Olivencia Orchestra, the
Willie Rosario orchestra and
El Gran Combo.
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] A highlight of the night was the four-minute unscripted addition he made to his song "
Perdoname
" (Forgive Me), which solidified his improvisational talent. This live version became such a sensation thereafter that Santa Rosa had to memorize his own improvised lines for future concerts, and Perdoname became the closing song to his shows.
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 Ambassador, 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]
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".
[6]
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.
[7]
On
February 9,
2008 Santa Rosa participated in an event named "Concierto del amor" which was organized in the
Madison Square Garden.
[8] In June 2008, "Contraste" received
Gold
and
Platinum
certification from the
Recording Industry Association of America.
[ According to the organization, the production has sold over 1,500,000 copies.][ 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.][ Meanwhile "No te vayas" began gaining positions in the same list. After participating in New York City's Puerto Rican Day Parade, Santa Rosa prepared to begin an international tour beginning on June 13, 2008, in New Orleans before proceeding to Tampa, Florida, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, Colombia and Mexico. [9] The concert in Chile, on June 28, 2008, was Santa Rosa's first ever in said country. the event took place in the Caupolicán Theatre and was attended by approximately 8,000 fans. [10] On July 5, 2008, Santa Rosa became the first salsa singer to perform at the Palau de la Música
in Barcelona. [11] The event was a Sold Out, filling the venue with an attendance of 2,000. [12] Santa Rosa was selected to perform at the “Balón de Oro” award ceremony, the most important condecoration in Mexican Football. [13] Santa Rosa was selected to take part in “La Nueva Salsa”, where he would perform along several young salsa artists. [14] Santa Rosa has also contributed to improving Puerto Rico's public education system. He participated in Sapientis Week, an initiative sponsored by the non-profit Sapientis which brings distinguished public figures into classrooms in order to raise the public's awareness of the education crisis in Puerto Rico.
]
Discography
- 1986 - Good Vibrations
- 1987 - Keeping Cool
- 1988 - De Amor Y Salsa
- 1988 - Salsa... En Movimiento
- 1990 - Punto De Vista
- 1991 - Perspectiva
- 1992 - El Caballero de la Salsa - Vol. 1
- 1992 - A Dos Tiempos De Un Tiempo
- 1993 - Nace Aquí
- 1994 - De Cara Al Viento
- 1995 - En Vivo Desde El Carnegie Hall
- 1996 - Esencia
- 1997 - ... De Corazón
- 1998 - ... Salsa Sinfonica en Venezuela
- 1999 - Expresión
- 2001 - Romántico
- 2001 - Intenso
- 2002 - Viceversa
- 2003 - Sólo Bolero
- 2004 - Auténtico
- 2006 - Directo Al Corazón
- 2007 - Contraste
- 2008 - Una Navidad Con Gilberto
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
References
- Latin Music
- Music of Puerto Rico
- Latin News
- Music of Puerto Rico
- Latin Music
- GSR
- Latin Beat Magazine 2001
- Don Omar y Gilberto Santa Rosa juntos en concierto del amor
- Gilbertito vende más oro y platino en Estados Unidos
- Enamora a Chile en su primera cita
- Gilbertito Santa Rosa comienza gira por España
- Pone a salsear a los catalanes
- Imparable Gilberto Santa Rosa
- Sabroso abrazo a los que van subiendo