Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (pronounced [xilˈβeɾto santa ɾosa]), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million records in the United States and Puerto Rico. Santa Rosa also starred in a comedy.
Santa Rosa was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Here he received his primary and secondary education and became interested in music. He took part in his first concert while a teenager and in 1976, he made his recording debut as a backup singer with the Mario Ortiz Orchestra; soon afterwards he was recruited by La Grande Orchestra, where he became the lead singer. He remained with the orchestra for two years, during which time he met Elias Lopez who helped to mold and polish him as a singer.
During the 1980s, he recorded Homenaje a Eddie Palmieri (Tribute to Eddie Palmieri)) with the Puerto Rican All Stars. He also recorded with various orchestras, amongst them the Tommy Olivencia Orchestra, and the Willie Rosario orchestra.
Santa Rosa developed a unique style of "soneo" (improvisation) in salsa that permitted him to be successful in both the "tropical" and "romantic" styles of the music.

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