Puerto Rican singer Gilberto Santa Rosa, nicknamed the salsa knight, said today that young Puerto Ricans should take advantage of the opportunity offered by the educational system of the Caribbean island to form and develop their potential as musicians.
Santa Rosa said in a statement to Efe that young people should not miss the opportunity offered by education in Puerto Rico during their visit to the Free School of Music in Arecibo, a municipality on the north coast of the island.
The singer went to the school to present the $ 20,000 donation given by the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation and the Ford Motor Company Fund to the Arecibo Free Music School in support of his musical program.
The Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation has the Latin Grammy program, an educational initiative that gives music students the opportunity to learn about the Latin music industry, directly through artists who have triumphed on the international scene, such as the case Of Santa Rosa.
“Students have to know how committed this profession is, but also how rewarding it is,” said Santa Rosa, for whom young people aspiring to follow in their wake should be aware of how hard the artistic world is. , Although from outside may seem otherwise.
Santa Rosa also stressed that the quarry of musicians in Puerto Rico is inexhaustible and that the talent on the island is innate, although he insisted that work is essential to get ahead.
“My great opportunity as an artist arose in Puerto Rico, although some think it was outside,” said the artist, who despite the difficulties that the Caribbean island is going through must be trusted.
“Puerto Rico has given great musicians, but also artists from other fields and people who have excelled in every facet of life,” said the singer, who asked the students to fight for their goals.
Santa Rosa said that his musical career has not been easy and that after decades of struggle he is now forty years on stage, a period that, as he has said, has led him to devote himself both to his native Puerto Rico and to many other countries.
“In the music industry there has always been an opportunity to develop,” said Santa Rosa, for whom his beginnings are on the island, where he already consecrated exported his music thanks to a daily work that he acknowledged he has never left.
That work and effort, he emphasized, is to which other artists born in the Caribbean island have resorted to, where as he said many other musicians preceded him and others will follow him, especially in the salsa genre and other tropical rhythms.
“I always say that the creator in making Puerto Rico gave a small territory, but it gave the bases so that there was a great talent among our musicians,” said Santa Rosa, for whom it is a reality that the island has given musical talent unequaled.
The director of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, Nannette Vélez, told Efe that the $ 20,000 donated by the organization that heads the Free Music School of Arecibo is a key contribution for the educational entity, which did not have Financial means to deal with the acquisition of musical instruments.
“Through a video we learn about the needs of the school, which includes 650 students,” recalled Velez about the reason that led the foundation to help the Puerto Rican school.
Vélez emphasized that thanks to the donation the students of music of the school will be able to develop their abilities and fight for a future in the artistic world.
The Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation is a charity established and funded by The Latin Recording Academy through donations and sponsorships.
The objective of the organization is to raise international awareness of the important contributions that Latin music and its creators make to the world culture through scholarships, grants and educational programs.
Scholarships are awarded to outstanding music students between the ages of 17 and 24, who demonstrate a passion for Latin music and are facing financial difficulties in accessing higher education.
The grant program supports individuals, organizations and institutions, while promoting research and preservation of Latin music.
Since the beginning of the initiative in 2014 more than 4,500 students have benefited from donations of musical instruments valued at $ 250,000 in schools across Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico and US cities such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles or Las Vegas.
