Gilberto Santa Rosa Visits Berklee Valencia During His Spanish Tour

Making a pause during his tour across Spain, Puerto Rican singer and bandleader Gilberto Santa Rosa visited Berklee’s campus in Valencia on July 17, 2024. Santa Rosa, who received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music this past May, enjoyed a tour around the campus facilities and shared some memorable moments with the summer performance program students before his concert at Jardines de Viveros in Valencia.

“I was deeply honored by the invitation, and I can say that I’m debuting my doctorate title because it’s the first time I’m visiting an educational institution to share my time with the students. Whenever I see young people studying and working toward the future of music, it fills me with a lot of hope. I would like to do some projects with the students and professors at Berklee, both here in Valencia and in Boston; it would be interesting. I enjoyed the experience a lot and would love to return,” expressed the singer.

“We are honored that Mr. Santa Rosa was able to visit the Berklee Valencia campus, Berklee's first campus outside of Boston. Mr. Santa Rosa's career is an inspiration to our community and we are thrilled that he could see our campus first-hand and meet some of the students participating in our Summer Performance Program,” said Simone Pilon, executive director of Berklee Valencia.

During his visit, “El Caballero de la Salsa'' shared his thoughts with Berklee Valencia’s summer performance program students. The tour, alongside Manuel Costa, senior director of operations and external affairs, and Katie Irwin, director of study abroad and special programs, included the recording studios, ensemble and practice rooms, and even the opportunity to enjoy live performances by students as part of their class.

The Auténtico Tour arrived in Europe at the beginning of July for a special journey through several Spanish cities, including Madrid, Sant Feliu, A Coruña, Jerez, Fuengirola, and Murcia. On July 17, it arrived in Valencia, delighting thousands of people with an extensive repertoire of songs that have won Santa Rosa the favor of the public from the beginning of his career.

The Auténtico Tour closed with a visit to Trui Son Fusteret in Mallorca on Friday, July 19, and a grand finale on Saturday, July 20, in Tenerife. From there, Santa Rosawill head to Mexico in August to continue his world tour.