Gilberto Santa Rosa Returns to Tampa

Gilberto Santa Rosa, ‘El Caballero de la salsa’ will return to Tampa once again for an after Thanksgiving performance at Studio Inc., 3603 West Waters Ave. For those that are not familiar with his background, ‘El Caballero de la salsa’ is his nickname due to his versatile and unique salsa style, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At 14, he performed his first professional concert with the help of his teacher, Mario Ortiz. In 1976 Santa Rosa made his recording debut as a backup singer with the Mario Ortiz Orchestra and soon after became the lead singer for La Grande Orchestra, followed by a performance with the Puerto Rican All-Stars in 1979. During the 1980’s, he also recorded with the orchestras of Tommy Olivencia, Willie Rosario and El Gran Combo. Santa Rosa developed a unique style of ‘soneo’ (improvisation) in salsa that permitted him to be successful in both tropical and romantic music.

Forming his own band in 1986, he signed with Combo Records and recorded hits that included ‘De Amor Y Salsa’, ‘Vivir Sin Ella’ and ‘Good Vibration’. In Santa Rosa’s career span he’s recorded about 25 albums. In 1990 Santa Rosa signed with CBS Sony (Sony Discos) where his first album, ‘Punto de Vista’, went platinum. He followed up with another hit album, ‘Perspectiva’ in 1991. In 1995, Santa Rosa became the first Puerto Rican tropical singer to perform at Carnegie Hall.

In 1999 the releases of ‘Expresion’, followed by ‘Intenso’ in 2001 and ‘Viceversa’ in 2002 which was a hit in Latin America and the United States. His latest album, ‘Autentico’, was released in 2004 just to mention a few. Furthermore, he has played an important role in the career of his friend, Victor Manuelle. The two released a live album at the end of 2005, ‘Dos Soneros, Una Historia.’ In 2006, Santa Rosa released, ‘Directo Al Corazón’, and in 2007 released ‘Contraste’ which went gold and platinum with ‘Conteo Regresivo’ being a major album hit. Some others are  Contraste en Salsa (2007), Una Navidad Con Gilberto (2008), El Caballero de La Salsa Historia Tropical and Lo Mejor de Gilberto en Las Navidades (both 2009), and his most recent release Irrepetible (2010). 

Unnotably are his numerous awards for his 34 plus years in the music industry. Gilberto has received about 13 gold albums, 13 platinum albums, 3 multi-platinum albums, numerous Latin Grammys, Latin Billboards as well Premio Lo Nuestro Awards.

Therefore see Gilberto Santa Rosa live at Studio Inc. and dance to his remarkable music. Advance tickets are $40. For additional information call 786-337-0032 or 305-467-3065.