Luis Enrique’s Salsa Simmers With Romance : Music: The Prince of Salsa combines American influences and a heavy dose of the erotic. He’ll be at the Greek tonight.

He’s known as the Prince of Salsa, and Luis Enrique, with his dark eyes, carved features, Melrose-hip clothes and sensual salsa tunes could very well be a modern-day Prince Charming.

But despite the rewards of reigning in the world of Latin music, despite fans’ swooning and throwing lingerie at him on stage, Enrique is uncomfortable with the throne. The 27-year-old does not want to be known as a phenomenon.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me, that label, ‘Prince of Salsa,’ ” he said in his hotel room this week, shortly after arriving for his Greek Theatre concert tonight. “I just want to concentrate on making music, instead of thinking that I am whatever they call me.”

He seems unspoiled by his three-year rise from unknown percussionist in L.A. clubs to one of the best-known names in Latin music, someone whose punchy blend of salsa, pop and jazz is played frequently on Spanish radio all over the world. He picked up key trophies in last year’s Billboard/Univision awards (the Latin version of the Grammys), including album of the year for “Mi Mundo.” His last two albums are both platinum--which, by Latin music standards, means sales of more than 200,000.

“I see this thing like it can easily go,” he said. “It doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t really pay attention to what’s happening because I don’t believe in being a star.”

But the people at CBS Discos International, the Latin division of CBS Records, see star written all over him. “He was cut out to be a superstar,” said Fernando Beltran, the label’s West Coast manager. “He’s got his own unique style. The way I look at Luis Enrique--he’s one of those things that come once in a very long while.”

If Enrique can’t get caught up in his stardom, perhaps it’s because the taste of his struggle to get there is still fresh. Born in Nicaragua, he left his small border town for Los Angeles at age 15 to escape his country’s crumbling political situation.

“Coming here was total cultural shock,” Enrique said, his Spanish accent slight. He went to high school in Whittier, where he was the first Latino in the school’s choir. He dreamed about going to college to study music, but he could not because of his alien status. After high school, he took all kinds of jobs to get by. “I practically lived on the streets,” he said.

On the side, he played in clubs all over L.A. “That was my musical training. That was how I paid my dues,” said Enrique, who now lives in Miami.

The cultural trip from Nicaragua to the States helped forge his style. He took the sounds lingering in his ear from his musical family in Nicaragua, where he started playing guitar and singing at age 10, and combined them with the pop sounds of his favorite bands during high school: Earth, Wind & Fire and Hall & Oates.

Throw in a little Brazilian jazz, R&B;, gospel, soul music, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. “That’s my base,” Enrique explained. “And it’s very me. I don’t believe in formulas. That’s why my music is so different.”

One other thing sets him apart: “Before, this salsa music was so limited to rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, nothing about lyrics. But I believe in lyrics. I think if you mix rhythm with beautiful lyrics and beautiful melodies you get the perfect combination.”

He calls his lyrics romantic, erotically charged and highly personal. The most personal, and his favorite song in his body of work, is “Llego el Amor” (“Love Has Come”). “It talks about what happens when you fall in love, what happens to your heart and soul when love arrives.”

He also sings about his homeland, Nicaragua. “These songs are about my feelings toward what happens to your family when you have a war, and your family splits, everything splits, your beliefs, your roots,” he said sadly. “I miss my country very much.”

His songs to Nicaragua are more about emotions than politics, he added. He said he did not like the way his family divided along political lines. His uncle, Luis Mejia Godoy, a leader of the nueva cancion movement who aligned with the Sandinistas, was known for his protest songs. Enrique, who eventually won political asylum in the United States, did not take sides. But now that the political situation in Nicaragua has calmed, he would like to go back to play a benefit concert. He has not yet returned.

Most of his music is not sad, but lively, optimistic and “romantic in a positive way.” He plays heavy on the romance, this young musician who exudes sex appeal with his ponytail, thin gold hoop in one ear, finely tailored suit and bold tie.

He admits his songs are full of sensuality. “Whenever there is romanticism, there has to be some sensuality. Some people confuse being erotic with being vulgar, but they are totally different in my music.”

Enrique is aware of his sex-symbol image, but he underplays its importance to his act. “It’s embarrassing when women throw things on the stage,” he said. Once a pair of panties caught on his mike.

“I freaked out,” he said. “I don’t ever want to base my music on my appearance. I just want to get my music across.”

Enrique seems to be doing just that. He said he has tapped into a young audience of Latinos and introduced them to the salsa beat of their parents’ generation.

However, he doesn’t have a large non-Latino following. He would like to record in English one day, “but it’s not my priority.” Still, language barriers aside, “the passion in my music comes through.”