Gaby Moreno

Gaby Moreno is a Guatemalan singer-songwriter, producer, film composer and guitarist. Singing in both English and Spanish, Moreno's music covers many genres including Latin, alternative, blues, folk and Americana.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Moreno and the second or maternal family name is Bonilla.

Gaby Moreno
Gaby Moreno wearing a black sleeveless top and a headband, appearing to tune an acoustic guitar
Moreno in 2012
Background information
Birth nameMaría Gabriela Moreno Bonilla
OriginGuatemala City, Guatemala
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1997–present
LabelsMetamorfosis, Nonesuch
Websitewww.gaby-moreno.com

Early life

Moreno was born in Guatemala and later moved to Los Angeles.

Reception

Moreno has been received positively by Al Borde,[1] KCRW,[2] Latina,[3] NBC Latino, NPR[4] (including All Things Considered,[5] Alt. Latino,[6] and Tiny Desk Concerts[7]), Orlando Weekly[8] and The New York Times.[9]

The music video for "Fuiste Tu", her duet with Ricardo Arjona, has amassed over 1 billion views on YouTube.[10]

"This Guatemalan American singer-songwriter alternates fluidly between languages, whether spoken (English and Spanish) or musical, easing in and out of everything from folksy alt country to retro blues rock …Plucky, quirky and insightful, Moreno has the grace and the skill to make it big." – Rhapsody: No. 3 in Top 10 Latin Alt Albums of Spring 2011[11]

In 2012 she was listed as one of the "5 Latinos to Look Out for in 2012" by NBC Latino.[12]

Career

Music
Gaby Moreno in Reutlingen, Germany (June 2012)

In August 2009, Moreno toured with Tracy Chapman. Later, in November 2009, Moreno toured as direct support for Ani Difranco on an East Coast tour. Difranco invited Moreno back out on tour in January and February 2010. In July 2010 Moreno went on tour in Germany (e.g. in Constance, Heidelberg, and Ravensburg) and France.

In early 2011 Moreno and her band played their first headlining tour. They toured through the Netherlands and Belgium performing as part of the "World Sessions" tour. In addition, Moreno and her band opened as direct support for Nouvelle Vague for three shows in Germany. In late 2011 Gaby toured the U.S. East coast as direct support for The Milk Carton Kids.

Moreno played some concerts in France in February 2012. Later that spring, she performed with Ricardo Arjona during his "Metamorfosis World Tour." In June, Moreno performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to commemorate 50 years of Amnesty International, together with Kris Kristofferson and others. Throughout May and June, Moreno played concerts in Ireland ("Electric Burma" in honor of Aung San Suu Kyi together with Bono, Damien Rice, Bob Geldof, Angelique Kidjo, etc.), Germany, France, and London (with Van Dyke Parks) In July, Moreno played concerts in France, including Le Havre, Verdun, and Paris.

In 2013, she toured with Hugh Laurie and The Copper Bottom Band through Europe, in March 2014 in South America, namely Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

On 28 February and 1 March 2015, Moreno played at Festival Acústico under the name "Gaby Moreno y amigos". Her performances featured guest appearances by Óscar Isaac, Sara Watkins, Ishto Jueves, Devorah Rahel (with whom she played the song "Y Tu Sombra") and El Gordo. Moreno also played a song called "Maldición, Bendición".

In March 2015, Moreno went on tour in Europe, playing at Theater Akzent in Vienna, Austria (19 March, her first show in Vienna), Casino Kulturraum in Friedrichshafen, Germany (20 March), La Spirale in Fribourg, Switzerland (21 March), and Cankar Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia (24 March). On 24 July 2015 Moreno performed at the Lincoln Center in New York City with Out of Doors. Starting in 2016, Moreno became a recurring guest on Live From Here.

In 2018 Moreno released a cover of Trinidadian artist David Rudder's 1998 song "The Immigrants," made with arranger and producer Van Dyke Parks, ahead of the U.S. Independence Day (4 July), with proceeds going to benefit CARECEN.

¡Spangled!, a collaboration between Moreno and Parks, was released in 2020 on Metamorfosis & Nonesuch Records. The album includes a bolero from Panama, a bossa nova from Brazil, a song by Moreno, David Rudder's "The Immigrants," and Ry Cooder, John Hiatt and Jim Dickinson's song "Across the Borderline," performed with Cooder and Jackson Browne.

Composition

As a composer, Moreno recorded and produced the score for the feature film Language Lessons (directed by Natalie Morales) and received an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Song” for the theme song to NBC’s show Parks and Recreation.[13]

In 2022, Moreno released a full-length album, Dreamers Dream On, with her three-part harmony side project, The SongBirds, and released her self-produced seventh solo studio album Alegoría, which has earned her a second GRAMMY nomination.[14][15]

Television

Moreno sings the theme song and voices a character (Marlena) for the Disney children’s television series, Elena of Avalor.[16] Her version of the song "Cucurrucucú Paloma" was featured in a key scene during the last season of the Netflix original show Orange Is the New Black.

Moreno appeared alongside Rupert Grint in a Catherine Hardwicke-directed episode of Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities.[17] Moreno also collaborated with composer Heitor Pereira to write and perform the song "Por Que Te Vas" for DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Discography

Albums
  • 2009: Still the Unknown (released independently)[18]
  • 2010: A Good Old Christmastime EP (released independently)[19]
  • 2011: European release of Still the Unknown (World Connection Records)[20]
  • 2011: Illustrated Songs (released independently)
  • 2012: European release of Illustrated Songs (World Connection Records)[21]
  • 2012: Postales (Metamorfosis)[22]
  • 2014: Posada (Christmas Album)[23][24]
  • 2016: Illusion[25]
  • 2019: ¡Spangled![26] (a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks through Nonesuch Records)
  • 2022: Alegoría (Metamorfosis)

Singles
  • 2009: "Smile" – The Cove – sang the song "Smile" (written by Charlie Chaplin)[27]
  • 2010: "Quizas"
  • 2017: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" – with Mike Garson
  • 2018: "The Immigrants" – with Van Dyke Parks

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Note(s)
2013Hugh Laurie: Live On The Queen MaryBacking Vocals
2019La LloronaTitle song

Television
Year Title Role Note(s)
2017Family Guy(voice)Episode: "Dearly Deported"
2018–20Elena of AvalorMarlena (voice)3 episodes
2019UndoneHerselfEpisode: "Alone In This (You Have Me)"

Awards and nominations

In 2006, she won the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Song writing Contest with her song "Escondidos," first in the Latin category, then overall.

In 2010, Moreno was awarded "Favourite American Latino Indie Artist" at the American Latino Awards (run by American Latino TV).

Grammy Awards:

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2017IlusiónBest Latin Pop AlbumNominated

Latin Grammy Awards:

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2012"Fuiste Tú"Record of the YearNominated
2013Gaby MorenoBest New ArtistWon
2020¡Spangled!Best Traditional Pop Vocal AlbumNominated
2021Bolero de la vida (with Omara Portuondo)Best Tropical SongNominated

References
  1. Hilda Gabriela (1 March 2011). "Gaby Moreno's 'Illustrated Songs' Is All About Going Big, Or Going Home". AB's Top Music News. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. "Gaby Moreno: Song for You". Today's Top Tune. KCRW. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  3. Smriti Mundhra (2 May 2011). "The Best Latin Music You Don't Know: Gaby Moreno". Latina. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. Tamara Vallejos (4 December 2008). "Gaby Moreno: 'Song of You'". NPR. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  5. "Gaby Moreno: Lady Learns The Blues, And More". All Things Considered. NPR. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  6. Anne Hoffman (1 July 2011). "New Music From The Latin Alternative Music Conference". NPR. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. Jasmine Garsd (1 August 2011). "Gaby Moreno: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. Le-Huu, Bao (1 October 2011). "This Little Underground". Orlando Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  9. Pareles, Jon (8 July 2011). "Musical Ambition, Defying All Barriers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  10. Ricardo Arjona - Fuiste tú feat. Gaby Moreno (Video Oficial), archived from the original on 21 October 2022, retrieved 21 October 2022
  11. Rachel Devitt (1 May 2011). "LATIN ROUNDUP: TOP 10 LATIN ALT ALBUMS OF SPRING 2011". Archived from the original on 25 May 2012.
  12. Kristina Puga (3 December 2011). "5 Latinos to Look Out for in 2012". nbclatino.tumblr.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  13. Ann Donahue (8 July 2010). "'Idol,' 'SNL' Join 'Glee' with Emmy Nominatons". Billboard. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  14. "Gaby Moreno is making music on her terms". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  15. "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  16. Cantor-Navas, Judy; Cantor-Navas, Judy (10 June 2016). "Gaby Moreno Sings Theme Song for Disney Channel Latina Princess Show 'Elena of Avalor'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  17. Gonzalez, A. J. (17 October 2022). "Guillermo del Toro's 'Cabinet of Curiosities' Releasing Episodes Over 4 Nights — Here Are the Dates". Remezcla. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  18. "Gaby Moreno - Still The Unknown". Discogs. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  19. Gaby Moreno – A Good Old Christmastime (2010, CD), archived from the original on 4 January 2022, retrieved 4 January 2022
  20. Gaby Moreno – Still The Unknown (2011, CD), archived from the original on 4 January 2022, retrieved 4 January 2022
  21. "Gaby Moreno - Illustrated Songs". Discogs. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  22. "Postales Metamorfosis". www.gaby-moreno.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  23. Cantor-Navas, Judy (3 December 2014). "Gaby Moreno's 'Posada': An Instant Latin Christmas Classic". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  24. Gaby Moreno – Posada (2014, CD), archived from the original on 4 January 2022, retrieved 4 January 2022
  25. Gaby Moreno – Illusion (2016, CD), archived from the original on 4 January 2022, retrieved 4 January 2022
  26. Gaby Moreno & Van Dyke Parks – ¡Spangled! (2019, CD), archived from the original on 4 January 2022, retrieved 4 January 2022
  27. Gaby Moreno at IMDb
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