Gilberto Santa Rosa
b. 21 August 1950, Puerto Rico. Since the mid-80s, the mainstream salsa recording industry in Puerto Rico and the USA has been largely preoccupied with developing and marketing the images of "good looking" young male vocalists, rather than producing solid, stimulating music performed by swinging soneros (improvising salsa singers). Santa Rosa, however, who was one of the first of this new crop of solo singers, is regarded as being amongst the small number who deserve to be called a sonero. His apprenticeship included stints with top Puerto Rican band leaders, Tommy Olivencia and Willie Rosario, before he signed with Ralph Cartagena's Combo Records. In 1986, Santa Rosa debuted on Good Vibrations fronting his own salsa orquesta of two trumpets, two trombones, baritone saxophone, rhythm section (conga, bongo, timbales, bass, piano) and coro (chorus). After releasing three more albums on Combo, he switched to CBS Records and issued the chart-topping salsa rom ntica set Punto De Vista in 1990, which spawned the smash hits "Vivir Sin Ella" and "Perd¢name". Gilberto's 1991 CBS/Sony follow-up, Perspectiva, was another monster hit. In 1990, Santa Rosa was in the illustrious company of Andy Monta¤ez and Pedro Brull (from Mulenze), as one of the contemporary soneros assembled by band leader Don Perignon for his all-star La Puertorrique¤a project. Between 1984 and 1990, Gilberto acted as artistic assistant and sang coro on albums by Puerto Rican band leader Mario Ortiz. In 1990, he won the Billboard Lo Nuestro award for Best Male Singer. He has also performed at New York's prestigious annual salsa festival.

Listen to Gilberto Santa Rosa at Finetune.

Albums
Top Tracks
  • Vivir Sin Ella
  • Perdoname
  • Que Manera De Quererte
  • Conciencia
  • Sin Voluntad
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