Victor Manuelle

Commonly known as "The Knight of Salsa," Víctor Manuelle is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has been active in the Latin music industry for over two decades. Born Víctor Manuel Ruiz Velázquez on September 27, 1968, in New York City, he spent his formative years in Isabela, Puerto Rico, where he developed a taste for salsa music. After being discovered by sonero Gilberto Santa Rosa at his high school's graduation party, he became a backup singer for Don Periñon and later made his official debut as a solo artist with Justo a Tiempo in 1993, followed by Sólo Contigo a year later. During the mid-90s, Víctor Manuelle reached his artistic and commercial peak on albums such as Víctor Manuelle (1996), A Pesar de Todo (1997), and Ironías (1998), his first full-length to reach the top of the Tropical Albums chart. In the following years, chart-topping releases like Instinto y Deseo (2001), Travesía (2004), and Soy (2008) cemented Víctor Manuelle's reputation as one of the most commercially successful performers in the Latin music world. Released in 2015, his sixteenth album Que Suenen los Tambores reached Number 2 on the Top Latin Albums chart thanks to the popularity of the songs "Agua Bendita" and "No Quería Engañarte." In 2018, his album 25/7 won Best Salsa Album at the Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Memorias de Navidad, his first holiday album, appeared in 2019, while Lado A Lado B peaked at Number 13 on the US Latin charts in 2022.