Gilberto Santa Rosa’s musical elegance and style has made him one of the most prominent figures in popular music. His countless accolades in the recording industry reaffirm his validity through the years, among them the 2002 ASCAP Latin Heritage Award, seven Grammy® Awards, and most recently, Lifetime Achievement Award. His rewarding musical path and consistency as one of the most listened to recording artists on the radio having achieved 14 number one hits on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, record sales history including a multitude of Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum album certifications, and the Guinness World Record Holder of the most #1’s on Billboard’s Tropical albums chart (12 in total) make him one of the most successful Latin music vocalists in the world.
While in his teens, Santa Rosa attended La Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan, Puerto Rico, and even though he played the saxophone and the trumpet his desire for singing was always present. On January 6, 1975, he had his national debut as a vocalist on a televised Christmas special. This marked the beginning of a wonderful musical career that has lasted more than five decades.
His presence with La Grande orchestra for two years, as well as his participation with the groups Don Perigñon, Fantasía Boricua of Manolito Rodríguez, and the Puerto Rico All Star Tommy Olivencia, placed the young Puerto Rican on an important pedestal in the Salsa movement of the 70s and 80s.
Guided by his musical passion, he accepted a co-lead vocal position as part of the Willie Rosario Orchestra in 1981. This movement placed him as one of the new voices of the popular Salsa genre in Puerto Rico as well as the international scene. His union with Willie Rosario added musical hits like “Lluvia” and “Botaron la pelota,” songs that have transcended through time and are part of Santa Rosa’s catalogue of success.
His development as an important solo singer in the second half of the 80s was the period where he became known as the “Caballero de la Salsa.” Santa Rosa’s unique style as a tropical artist appeared in early albums Salsa en Movimiento, Keeping Cool, Good Vibrations, and De Amor y Salsa for Combo Records.
After 1990, Santa Rosa became part of multi-national record label Sony Discos (currently Sony Music Latin), recording almost 20 albums including such hits as Perspectiva (1991), A dos tiempos de un tiempo (1992), En Vivo Desde Carnegie Hall (1995), Esencia (1996), Expresión (1999), Intenso (2001), Sólo bolero (2003), Auténtico (2004), Directo al corazón (2006), Contraste (2007), all awarded by the American Recording Association “RIAA” for the success in sales. Una Navidad con Gilberto (2008), Irrepetible (2010), Gilberto Santa Rosa (2012), and Necesito Un Bolero (2015). Billboard Magazine named Santa Rosa Tropical Artist of the Decade in 2010 through his successful streak of hit albums and singles.
Santa Rosa was awarded the Lifetime Culture Achievement award in September 2012 in New York City. By the South-South News Organization, an agency ascribed to the United Nations. This important acknowledgment is given to individuals that have performed significant contributions for world development. Acknowledging Santa Rosa made him the first musician to be honored among heads of state and politicians who have received this award. An international jury understood that his music is an instrument that promotes cultural development and pointed out his performance as a spokesman for social campaigns such as the National Association for Diabetes and other initiatives that create an awareness of domestic violence and mistreatment of women. Being honored with this award from the United Nations, an entity that is not linked to the music or entertainment industry makes it unique from the many other accolades that Santa Rosa has received.
In 2013, he debuted on Broadway, where he was an invited guest in the musical production revival of Forever Tango at the Walter Kerr Theater. His performance showed his great stage charisma and variety of talents captivating the American public while singing Tangos and Ballads. Santa Rosa participated as a coach on the reality show La Voz Colombia, a competition of vocal talents where Gilberto showed one more time his great musical knowledge.
In March 2015, Santa Rosa received the first “Premio Estrella” awarded by the most important Festival in the salsa genre (Día Nacional de la Zalsa), presented in prestigious stages across Peru, Mexico, the U.S., and many other countries. Also, in 2015, he launched in the U.S. and Puerto Rico his latest album Necesito un Bolero (I need a Ballad). The project, his first for Sony Mexico, is composed of 14 songs and among them 4 powerful duets with music legends: Marco Antonio Solis, Eugenia Leon, Natalia Lafourcade, and Lena. This album earned him his fifth Latin Grammy® Award, and first in the Pop field for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2016, he received a Star on Puerto Rico’s Walk of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Premio Soberano a la Trayectoría.
In the middle of 2017 and 2018, Santa Rosa had one of the most incredible milestones of his career... performing in Cuba for the first time, sharing in HBO Latino his tour "40... y contando," and the celebration of his 40th anniversary in the music industry.
During 2020 and 2021, Santa Rosa made a few outstanding and unforgettable global virtual presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping in constant communication with his audience. Furthermore, he was the first artist to perform live during the economic recovery of the entertainment industry after the pandemic in markets such as Puerto Rico where he performed to a SOLD OUT crowd at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, and Miami with his Camínalo tour.
In 2022, El Caballero de la Salsa, successfully carried out his “Camínalo Tour” tour throughout Latin America and the U.S>, visiting more than 50 cities, filling important venues in Chile, Bogotá, Panama, among others, and performing for the first time in New York City. In addition, through his record label B2B Music and distributed by Believe, the singer launched his new record production "Debut y Segunda tanda", a fresh and different proposal that has eight songs, five of which are new versions of songs that other fellow artists have already performed and now they will have the peculiar touch that characterizes Gilberto Santa Rosa's salsa.
Since August 2023, Santa Rosa has been performing relentlessly on his new live show “Auténtico Tour," a 50-city concert series that has him traveling the world. He and his band are traveling to significant and iconic venues such as the Teatro Nacional in the Dominican Republic, the Movistar Arena in Chile and Colombia, the Kia Center in Orlando, and Radio City Music Hall in New York. His coming summer, the tour will visit more than 15 cities in Europe.
Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. For information on events, go to MiddlesexCountyCulture.com
