Shaped by Music: Gina Chavez is La Que Manda

La Que Manda: The Woman in Charge

Words by Abby L. Johnson Photos by Eric Morales

What does it really mean to find success in one’s hometown? Gina Chavez, native Austinite and renowned Latin pop artist, is uniquely qualified to answer this question.

Gina grew up in the Live Music Capital of the World, attended college at UT Austin, and began to create music that constantly redefines what constitutes the Austin sound. Today, the self-managed artist and vocal powerhouse boasts 12 Austin Music Awards, a Latin Grammy nomination, and a local holiday with her namesake. Most recently, she received a nomination for best Latin artist at the 40th annual Austin Music Awards, set to take place on March 8. “This year’s nomination is more of a surprise. It’s a bit like… we’re now on people’s minds without having to wave a flag and be like, ‘Hey, remember us?’” she laughs. “It means something to be part of the music psyche here in Austin.”

Gina discovered her love for Latin music when she participated in a study abroad program in Buenos Aires. That’s where she was exposed to the intoxicating folkloric rhythms of Chacarera, a traditional Argentinian music and dance that is often compared to the tango. She often looks outside the confines of traditional American music to bring her artistic visions to life. La Que Manda, the title track of her 2020 release, for example, with its rollicking Afro-Cuban and Dominican inspired beats and battle-cry vocals, feels like American pop bathed in rich world sounds. Bringing all these influences from around the world back home is a truly momentous task. Reflecting on her ability to synthesize diverse genres into one body of work, she remarks, “I look back at my career and the music I’ve made, and it’s kind of all over the place. It doesn’t fit nicely into a box, but I think people love it for that reason. And I love it for that reason.”

Of her artistic message in this era of her life and work, Gina has much to say. “I think in a large sense, the past few years for me have been really reckoning with how the world asks women to be small from the time that we’re born. I think for the longest time, I thought it was just me, you know?” In her experience touring both in the states and internationally as a U.S. cultural ambassador, she came to realize that “this is something that every woman in the world is familiar with. I’ve been all over the world. I’ve been to places like Jordan and Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and Venezuela. And guess what? It’s everywhere.” The album La Que Manda (loosely translated to The Woman in Charge) addresses this pervasive attitude, placing power and stature in Gina’s hands with a sound that is anything but small. In her music, Gina herself shines and works to empower others as well.

Gina doesn’t have plans to leave the Austin music scene anytime soon. She lights up as she recalls an evening spent at Sahara Lounge on Webberville Road. Cilantro Boombox, an Eastside musical staple band, took the stage with their customary infectious and effusively joyful sound and unexpectedly called their friend Gina on stage. “I think I was in my sweatpants,” she laughs, noting, “This is everything music should be, this [attitude of], ‘Hey, let’s let loose and have fun and invite our friends on stage.’ And that is Austin to me. It’s just friends. It’s hanging out.”

Contact:
@ginachavez
ginachavez.com
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