Growing up in Guatemala, Gaby Moreno always dreamed of moving to the United States to pursue a career in music. When she was a teenager, she and her parents visited New York City, where she was introduced to a genre of music she’d never heard before: the blues.
“I heard this woman just singing, right there in the streets,” she said. “I listened for like 20 minutes, and I’m just completely mesmerized by the feeling, the passion that was coming out of her singing.”
After that, Moreno threw herself into her music, learning guitar and piano. She eventually came to Los Angeles to follow her dream. Moreno credits LA for her success.
“I feel it’s because I’ve been in this town… I wouldn’t be where I am if I wasn’t here in Los Angeles,” she said.
In 2024, Moreno won her first Grammy. Already a Latin Grammy winner, the award comes the same year as her ninth studio album. She is known for blending her love for the blues with her Latin roots for a unique and soulful sound.
In this episode of “LA Stories,” we revisit our past conversation with Moreno, where she opened up about the inspiration behind her music, telling host Giselle Fernandez that she writes her songs with her home country of Guatemala in her heart.
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With so much poverty and political unrest in Guatemala, Moreno hopes to use her music to spark change.
“I want to express my feelings and to be a voice for the voiceless,” she said.
Moreno has turned her words into actions, becoming a Global Ambassador for UNICEF. She has visited the poorest parts of Guatemala and saw firsthand the help that the organization provides. Seeing the difficulties people face across the border has inspired Moreno to fight for immigrant rights in the U.S.
While the challenges for immigrants remain great, for Moreno, arts and music have the ability to heal in the most trying times.
“It lifts our spirits,” she said. “And you’ve seen it in the times where we had really, really dark moments in history. Every time, we bounced back. It’s thanks to the arts and thanks to music.”