Gilberto Santa Rosa was born on 21 August 1962, in Puerto Rico and today is… Read Full Bio ↴Gilberto Santa Rosa was born on 21 August 1962, in Puerto Rico and today is known as "El Caballero de la Salsa" (the gentleman of salsa).

In 1976 he started with a group of amateurs in Puerto Rico, and his first recording was with the Mario Ortiz Orchestra. He then moved on to Orquesta La Grande, and during the two years Gilberto was with them, he met Mr. Elias Lopés who later helped mold and polish the promising young singer, releasing three recordings.

In 1980, he got an important opportunity recording "Homenaje a Eddie Palmieri" with the Puerto Rico All Stars. He then went on to record with Tommy Olivencia. From 1981 through 1986 he was with the Willie Rosario Orchestra where he recorded six albums.

Santa Rosa then signed with Ralph Cartagena's Combo Records. In 1986, he debuted on Good Vibrations fronting his own salsa orquesta. After releasing three more albums on Combo, including "De Amor y Salsa", he switched to CBS Records and issued the chart-topping salsa romantica set Punto De Vista in 1990, which went platinum and spawned the smash hits "Vivir Sin Ella" and "Perdoname". Santa Rosa's 1991 CBS/Sony follow-up, Perspectiva, was another monster hit.

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.

In 1990, Santa Rosa was in the illustrious company of Andy Montañez and Pedro Brull (from Mulenze ), as one of the contemporary soneros assembled by bandleader Don Perignon for his all-star La Puertorriqueña project. 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. But 1990 was an important year in other respects. Santa Rosa made acting debut in the play "La pareja dispareja", where he was joined by Rafo Muñiz and Luis Vigoreaux.

He visited Japan in 1995 as Puerto Rico's musical ambassador and sang one of his songs, "De cara al viento" in Japanese in his effort to bridge the cultural barriers. Since then Santa Rosa's fame reached across borders and continents; commanding recognition as salsa artist in most demand. In 1996 he released yet another smash album Esencia which included hit songs such as No Quiero Nada Regala'o.

Santa Rosa's recent work has not been limited to soloist recordings. He joined other artists in the First President's Festival in the Dominican Republic; Andy Montañez in New York's Lincoln Center, in 1997; and Olga Tañon in the Universal Studios Amphitheater in Holloywood, in 1997.

In 1999, he released Expresión, which reinforced his international fame. The album included the hit song "Que alguien me diga", written by Omar Alfanno, which was at the top of Billboard‘s latin chart for various weeks. The album also included the song Fulana, unlike his well known salsa, demonstrating his wide range of interests and ability. The album was selected as one of the 20 best recordings of the year by the National Foundation Popular Culture of Puerto Rico.

Amiga Mía
Gilberto Santa Rosa Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Que pasaría
Si te dijera, que encontrado en mi
Últimamente
Una especial admiración por ti

Amiga mía
Si nadie como tu me ha comprendido,
Te ruego me sugieras el motivo

Me ayudes a encontrar la explicación

No, no, no te rías
Cuando te diga
Que encontrado en ti,
Todas las cosas
Que me he cansado de buscar

Amiga mía
Si luego de mil veces
Preguntármelo,
Yo siento que mi alma
Esta llamándote,
Llamándote, llamándote

No, no, no te rías
Cuando te diga
Que encontrado en ti,
Todas las cosas
Que me he cansado de buscar

Amiga mía
Si luego de mil veces
Preguntármelo,
Yo siento que mi alma
Esta llamándote,
Llamándote, llamándote

Llamándote

Overall Meaning

"Amiga Mia" is a romantic ballad that expresses the feelings of a man towards a woman who he considers his closest friend. The lyrics depict the insecurities and questions that he has about his newfound admiration towards her. The song begins with the line "Que pasaría si te dijera, que encontrado en mi últimamente una especial admiración por ti" which translates to "What would happen if I told you that I have recently found an admiration in you?" The singer is confessing to his friend that he has developed a newfound appreciation for her, and he's unsure of how she will react to his confession.

The singer then goes on to ask his friend for her help in understanding his feelings. He feels that she is the only one who truly understands him and can help him find the explanation for his feelings. He says, "Te ruego me sugieras el motivo, Me ayudes a encontrar la explicación" which translates to "I beg you to suggest the reason, help me find the explanation." The singer is looking to his friend for guidance in understanding why he feels the way he does.

The song goes on to express the depth of his admiration for her, and how he feels that he has finally found in her all the qualities that he has been searching for. He repeats the line "No, no, no te rías cuando te diga que encontrado en ti, todas las cosas que me he cansado de buscar" which translates to "No, no, no, don't laugh when I tell you that I have found in you all the things that I have grown tired of searching for." The singer has found in his friend everything that he has been looking for in a romantic partner, and he's unsure of how to proceed with his feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

Que pasaría
What would happen

Si te dijera, que encontrado en mi
If I told you that I've found in myself

Últimamente
Lately

Una especial admiración por ti
A special admiration for you

Amiga mía
My dear friend

Si nadie como tu me ha comprendido,
If nobody has understood me like you,

Te ruego me sugieras el motivo
I beg you to suggest the reason

Me ayudes a encontrar la explicación
Help me find the explanation

No, no, no te rías
No, no, don't laugh

Cuando te diga
When I tell you

Que encontrado en ti,
That I've found in you