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.

Sin Un Amor
Gilberto Santa Rosa Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Usted el hombre que no tiene amor
Y por las noches pasa mucho frío
Duerme a solas en su habitación
Cuatro paredes y un techo vacío

Y por eso yo le recomiendo
Que se tire temprano a la calle
Y que busque a una mujer que lo ame

Para que en las noches
Lo abrace a su calle

Y por eso yo le recomiendo
Que se tire temprano al camino
Porque un hombre que no tiene amor
Es un ave errante y es un peregrino
Porque un hombre que no tiene amor
Es un globo que flota perdido
Que por fuera te causa esplendor
Pero por dentro siempre esta vacío

Sin un amor todo esta desierto
Sin un amor todo esta vacío
Si no le pones calor a tu invierno
El corazón enfermo se muere de frío;

Sin un amor todo esta desierto
Sin un amor todo esta vacío

Si no le pones calor a tu invierno
El corazón enfermo se muere de frío

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Gilberto Santa Rosa's "Sin un Amor" revolve around the theme of love and how important it is for human beings to have it in their lives. The song talks about a man who is devoid of love and as a result, suffers from cold and lonely nights. The man sleeps alone in his empty room, surrounded by four walls and an empty roof. The singer recommends to the man that he should go out early and find a woman who loves him, so that he may be embraced and loved during the lonely nights. The singer goes on to describe how a man without love is like a wandering bird and a homeless wanderer. He is like a lost balloon that appears to be splendid outside, but is always empty inside. The singer emphasizes how important love is for us and how without it, everything in our lives can appear to be a desert, empty and cold. The singer warns how our hearts can become sick and die of the coldness inside if we don't add warmth to our lives through love.

Line by Line Meaning

Usted el hombre que no tiene amor
You, the man who doesn't have love

Y por las noches pasa mucho frío
And at night, you feel very cold

Duerme a solas en su habitación
You sleep alone in your room

Cuatro paredes y un techo vacío
With four walls and an empty ceiling

Y por eso yo le recomiendo
That's why I recommend to you

Que se tire temprano a la calle
That you go out early to the street

Y que busque a una mujer que lo ame
And look for a woman who loves you

Para que en las noches
So that at night,

Lo abrace a su calle
She will embrace you in her warmth

Que se tire temprano al camino
Go out early on the road

Porque un hombre que no tiene amor
Because a man who doesn't have love