Plucking her custom-built charango, Latina folk-rocker Gina Chavez is heralded the Joni Mitchell of Latin music. Her percussive guitar sets the mood for lyrical scenery, but it’s the folkloric “Embrujo” of Gina’s voice that sears the memory.

The night she saw blues songstress Toni Price wailing at the Continental Club that she found her passion and career. A semester abroad in Argentina left Gina haunted by the folkloric sounds of the Andes and started her on a journey to uncover her own Latin roots through the rhythm, language and melody of Latin music.

Gina released her debut album, Hanging Spoons, in 2007. Since then, Gina has toured with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, shared the stage with Ozomatli, Grupo Fantasma, and Del Castillo, and represented the City of Austin on the 2011 Austin Music Vol. 10 compilation.

In 2009, Gina left the spotlight of the Live Music Capital for a gang-dominated suburb of San Salvador where she lived with Salesian sisters and taught English to more than 300 girls. After eight months in a country where poverty and volcanoes loom large, she helped establish Austin 4 El Salvador, a college fund for girls they lived with in Soyapango.

SXSW welcomed Gina back to the live music scene with an official showcase and the Austin Chronicle named her the “breakout artist” of Austin’s 2011 Pachanga Festival. National Public Radio touted her one of eight “New Latin Artists at SXSW” and her music a “perfect mix of Latin, folk and bluegrass,” calling Gina a “proud example of Austin music.”

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