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 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 lasted for four 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.
Guided by his musical desires, he became part of the Willie Rosario orchestra in 1981. This movement placed him as one of the new voices of the Salsa movement in Puerto Rico as well as the international scene. The union to Willie Rosario added musical hits like “Lluvia” and “Botaron la pelota,” songs that have transcended through time.
His path as a solo singer was established in the second half of 80s—a 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 multinational 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 Gilberto 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 Gilberto 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 Santa Rosa’s 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 he 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, U.S., and many other countries. Also, in 2015 he launched his latest album, Necesito un Bolero (I Need a Ballad), in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The project, his first for Sony Mexico, is composed of 14 songs and among them four 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, rhe eceived 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... he performed in Cuba for the first time with HBO® Latino in his tour "40... y contando," the celebration of his 40th anniversary in the music industry.
During 2020 and 2021 Santa Rosa made outstanding and unforgettable virtual presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping in constant communication with his audience.
In June 2021, after months of confinement due to the pandemic, he restarted the concert industry in Puerto Rico launching his world tour, Camínalo Tour at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. Now in the beginning of 2023, a year and a half later, after having visited more than 50 cities in the U.S. and Latin America—between sold out shows, music, and a lot of passion—the Caballero de la Salsa is preparing to close in March the successful Camínalo Tour at prestigious and iconic stages of Europe.
