Gilberto Santa Rosa

Latest Release

Essential Albums

Artist Playlists

About Gilberto Santa Rosa

Singer Gilberto Santa Rosa—known as El Caballero de la Salsa (The Gentleman of Salsa)—made his performance debut at age 12 on a Puerto Rican children’s TV show. ∙ By age 15, he was sitting in with Latin jazz outfit Puerto Rico All-Stars, while also recording with salsa bandleaders Tommy Olivencia and Willie Rosario. ∙ In 1995, he was the first salsero to perform at Carnegie Hall, where he flashed his skills as a sonero—a singer skilled in improvisation—nearly doubling the length of such now-classics as “Perdóname.” ∙ Known for his stylistic versatility, he included both a romantic ballad and salsa version of the No. 1 hit “Por Mas Que Intento” on 2002’s Viceversa. ∙ Guinness World Records honored him in 2016 for taking the top spot on Billboard’s Tropical Albums chart a dozen times. ∙ In 2017, Lin-Manuel Miranda asked him to sing on the Hurricane Maria benefit track “Almost Like Praying,”—seven years after the salsero performed “Déjate Querer” at his wedding. ∙ His remarkable vocal prowess has earned the singer a Billboard Lo Nuestro award, a Grammy Award, and four Latin Grammys.

HOMETOWN
Puerto Rico
BORN
August 21, 1962
GENRE
Música tropical
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada