Nicknamed “El Caballero de la Salsa” (The Gentleman of Salsa),
Gilberto Santa Rosa is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. Having grown up listening to the salsa of the 1950s and 1960s, he started performing in his teens and began as a backup singer before moving on to become the lead singer in several orchestras. Developing his style so he could sing both tropical and romantic salsa, Santa Rosa made his solo recording debut in the 1980s and released a whole string of successful albums.
Perspectiva (1991),
Esencia (1996), and
Auténtico (2004) are some of his landmark records. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million records in the United States and Puerto Rico. His latest two albums are 2022’s
Debut y Segunda Tanda, Vol. 1 and its sequel,
Debut y Segunda Tanda, Vol. 2, which was released in 2024.
