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.
Tarjeta de Navidad
Gilberto Santa Rosa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
Ha llegado Navidad
La familia siempre está
Esperando Noche Buena en la paz del santo hogar
Y en los otros meses más
He dejado mi tristeza, que alegre la navidad
Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
El año va a terminar
Y lo triste hay que olvidar
Porque en el mes de diciembre todo es felicidad
Ha llegado Navidad
La familia siempre está
Esperando Noche Buena en la paz del santo hogar
Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad
Estas navidades van a ser candela
Estas navidades van a ser candela
Cógelo bien suavecito, o si no te quemas
Cógelo bien suavecito, o si no te quemas
En la fiesta en Noche Buena
Me tomaba mi traguito
Y después por la mañana
Agua fría con hielito
Me pusieron cataplasma
Me prepararon alguito
Pero solo reclamaba
Agua fría con hielito
Estas navidades van a ser candela
Estas navidades van a ser candela
Cógelo suave, Joseíto, o si no te quemas
Cógelo bien suavecito, o si no te quemas
Esperando tú regreso
La doñita está que arde
Desde el jueves por la noche
Hasta el domingo por la tarde
Te lo tumbara caliente
Eso nadie te lo quita
Pero dile en que es lo que andas
Sarna con gusto no pica
Estas navidades van a ser candela
Estas navidades van a ser candela
Cógelo bien suavecito, o si no te quemas
Cógelo bien suavecito, o si no te quemas
Puerto Rico y Santo Domingo se juntaron a festejar
Felicidades
Esta Navidad, candela
Y esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad, candela
Esta Navidad
Ha llegado Navidad
La familia siempre está
Esperando noche buena
En la navidad
En diciembre soy feliz
Y los otros meses más
He dejado mi tristeza
The song Medley De Mujeres by Gilberto & Victor features several verses, but the most prominent are those that celebrate the joyous arrival of Christmas. The opening lines repeat several times throughout the song, and they feature the lyrics, "Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel / Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el," which can roughly be translated to "Bell, bell, beautiful bell / With its notes of happiness it sings." This refrain is a nod to the traditional bells that are often associated with the holiday season and the joy that it brings to people's lives.
The other verses of the song focus on different aspects of the holiday season, such as spending time with family, forgetting troubles, and enjoying oneself. The lyrics show how much the holiday season means to the singers, and how they look forward to it each year. There are also references to popular holiday drinks and remedies for hangovers, as well as some more risqué lines about dealing with a cheating partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Cascabel, cascabel, lindo cascabel
A beautiful bell is ringing joyfully
Con sus notas de alegría va cantando el
It sings happily with joyful notes
Ha llegado Navidad
Christmas has arrived
La familia siempre está
Family is always there
Esperando Noche Buena en la paz del santo hogar
Waiting for Christmas Eve in the peace of their holy home
En diciembre estoy feliz
I'm happy in December
Y en los otros meses más
And even more so in other months
He dejado mi tristeza, que alegre la navidad
I've left my sadness behind, let Christmas bring happiness
El año va a terminar
The year is ending
Y lo triste hay que olvidar
And we must forget the sadness
Porque en el mes de diciembre todo es felicidad
Because in December everything is happy
Esta Navidad, candela
This Christmas is fire
Estas navidades van a ser candela
These Christmases are going to be fire
Cógelo bien suavecito, o si no te quemas
Take it easy, or else you'll get burned
En la fiesta en Noche Buena
At the Christmas Eve party
Me tomaba mi traguito
I would have a little drink
Y después por la mañana
And then in the morning
Agua fría con hielito
Cold water with ice
Me pusieron cataplasma
They put a poultice on me
Me prepararon alguito
They prepared something for me
Pero solo reclamaba
But all I wanted was
Agua fría con hielito
Cold water with ice
Esperando tú regreso
Waiting for your return
La doñita está que arde
The lady is burning up
Desde el jueves por la noche
Since Thursday night
Hasta el domingo por la tarde
Until Sunday afternoon
Te lo tumbara caliente
She'll knock you down hot
Eso nadie te lo quita
No one can take that away from you
Pero dile en que es lo que andas
But tell me what you're up to
Sarna con gusto no pica
You don't feel the itch if you enjoy it
Puerto Rico y Santo Domingo se juntaron a festejar
Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo came together to celebrate
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ZAIRA CORTES
on No Pense Enamorarme Otra Vez
ME SORPRENDIO TU AMOR