Jose Alberto "El Canario" (PR)

About

Also known as: El Canario, Jose "El Canario" Alberto, José Alberio "El Canario", José Alberto (El Canario), José Alberto Justiniano

José Alberto "El Canario" earned his nickname the hard way: fans were so taken by his exceptional whistling, which he could improvise like a traverse flute, that they started calling him The Canary. Born in Santo Domingo and raised between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico before landing in New York, he first caught serious attention as the singer of Típica 73 in 1977. His 1984 debut Noches Calientes made him a major Latin star, and his 1991 album Dance With Me went further still, helping define the salsa romántica style. Hits like "Sueño Contigo" and "Disculpeme Señora" kept him a fixture across Latin America, the US, and Europe. His reach has been genuinely wide. In 1999 he shared the stage with Celia Cruz at the Bacardi Darling Harbor Latin American Festival in Sydney in front of more than 22,000 people. His 2008 thirtieth anniversary concert at the United Palace Theater in New York brought out Oscar D'León, Ismael Miranda, and Joe Arroyo among others. Over four decades into his career, El Canario is still very much active, appearing in interviews and putting out content for his audience.