Courtesy of the artist
Gabriel Gonzalez
Choir, Songwriting, Afro-Latin Dumming
Gabriel Gonzalez’s career spans film, music videos, commercials, musical theatre and concerts. Internationally known as an actor, singer, and songwriter, he began his show business career at age seven, appearing in numerous films in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. By age eight, he recorded his first album. He is versatile in various musical genres, and has gained wide respect for his renditions of traditional Mexican ranchera, salsa, Afro-cuban, and pop and contemporary music. Working as a lead vocalist with bands such as Quetzal, Boogaloo Assassins, La Verdad, Johnny Palanco y su Conjunto Amistad, and La Sonora Santanera, Gonzalez has shared the stage with artists such as Jerry Rivera, Pichi Perez, Jimmy Bosch, Lalo Guerrero, Juan Gabriel, Frankie Vazquez. His credits include national theater work in the US national tour of the Tony award-winning musical, In the Heights.
As a Teaching Artist, Gabriel offers courses in Choir Singing, Songwriting, and Afro-Latin Drumming at the California Institution for Men, Chuckawala State Prison, and Ironwood State Prison. Before joining ACTA, Gabriel worked in youth correctional facilities and treatment centers with the band Quetzal where they engaged in conversation to inspire youth to find other means to express themselves through arts and music. He has taught songwriting workshops for 10+ years, working with several different organizations/communities to engage both youth and adults, worked as an instructor at Plaza de la Raza with youth teaching canciones infantiles, and has done a series of Corrido writing workshops for the East Los Angeles Community Corporation working with at-risk youth in East and South Central Los Angeles.
Gabriel has also worked with musical ensembles La Verdad (a Latin Jazz band) and La Victoria (a Mariachi trio) to provide Collective Songwriting workshops in Boyle Heights as part of ACTA programming.
