Gilberto Santa Rosa

Calling an artist a living legend in print can be a tricky business, with the risk of vocal naysayer upheaval very real. It requires either a certain disregard for reader opinion or a subject whose trajectory speaks so loudly that the writer’s words become less an affirmation than mere statement of fact. Gilberto Santa Rosa is one such artist.

Over the course of 20-plus years in the genre, the man known and loved the world over as “El Caballero de la Salsa” has been at the forefront of tropical music. He’s released album after album of instant hits, garnering awards and accolades, representing his native Puerto Rico, and championing a unique style of singing known as soneo, salsa’s answer to freestyling. He’s also a prodigious interpreter of bolero, a slow-groove style of romantic music that originated in Cuba. (For the best example of the latter, see his 2003 release, Solo Bolero, a collection of ten tender favorites including “Pueden Decir,” “Como He Podido Estar sin Ti,” and “Mentira.”)

But undoubtedly among his most famous contributions to Latin music was a mid-90’s performance given at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall, the first of its kind. From that concert came his live disc, En Vivo Desde el Carnegie Hall, featuring an extended version of his hit “Perdoname” that includes a four-minute soneo. The disc immediately became a favorite version among salsa lovers and a classic in the genre. Today, though, Santa Rosa’s impact and influence on tropical music remain as vital as ever.