Meet Gustavo Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gustavo Angeles.

Hi Gustavo, It’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us. To start, could you share some of your backstory with our readers?
Gustavo Ángeles is a passionate guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer born in Mexico City. He can combine a fusion of Latin Rock musical styles, including Flamenco, Blues, Afro-Cuban, and Latin American influences in his music. The ability to play different styles has allowed Gustavo to travel the world in places like Cuba, Sweden, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, all over the East and West coast of the United States, opening for acts like Maná, Juanes, Jorge Santana, Tito Puente Jr, Ozomatli, Los Lobos, and Arturo Sandoval, to name a few.

In 2014, Gustavo’s music was licensed for two episodes of East Los High, a five-time Emmy-nominated Hulu original series. With 25-year of career experience, His newest musical achievements are attending the 5.0 Vai Academy in New York, where he studied with the legendary guitar virtuosos Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Andy Timmons; he also had the opportunity to share the stage with Steve Vai, Andy Timmons, and Larry Mitchell. He studied and collaborated in the recording studio with the eminence of pre-Columbian instruments and artist Xavier Quijas Axayotl (credits in Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto) as an apprentice of the different ancient Aztec / Meshica drums and sounds. He participated in a guitar competition in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was chosen by the legendary Mexican Rockstars Maná as the winner and invited to perform a song with them in a packed stadium of 20,000 people at Talking Stick Arena, where he was awarded a Gibson guitar signed by the band itself. He was selected to headline the prestigious Avondale Arizona City Festival “Bill Moore Days Festival” in 2019 as the top act to close the night and 3-day festival with great success. He was called to play for the high-profile politician Mike Pompeo, former Director of the CIA and Secretary of State of the United States.

In 2022, he was invited to participate in the prestigious “Mole de Mayo” festival in Chicago, representing Mexico among other artists from Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Spain. A new collaboration came to fruition with Steve Vai’s backing band, Jeremy Colson (drums) and Philip Bynoe (bass), on his latest single, “Eagle Warrior” (Guerrero Aguila), where he fuses pre-Columbian sounds with Rock. He was nominated and awarded the ‘Nosotros Award” for best local Rock en Español Artist in September 2022, Following a live performance at the prestigious Orpheum Theater.

For 2024, he received the Artist to Work Grant from the Phoenix Department of Arts and Culture for his commitment to continuous artistic growth. This grant fund will allow Ángeles to travel to Cuba, Mexico, and California to produce a body of original work, a music collaboration between musicians from the United States, Cuba, and Mexico.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Music is a hard business, but the most important things are integrity and discipline to be successful.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
With 30 years of career experience, his newest musical achievements are attending the 5.0 Vai Academy in New York, where he studied with the legendary guitar virtuosos Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Andy Timmons; he also had the opportunity to share the stage with Steve Vai, Andy Timmons, and Larry Mitchell. He studied and collaborated in the recording studio with the eminence of pre-Columbian instruments and artist Xavier Quijas Axayotl (credits in Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto) as an apprentice of the different ancient Aztec / Meshica drums and sounds. He participated in a guitar competition in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was chosen by the legendary Mexican Rockstars Maná as the winner and invited to perform a song with them in a packed stadium of 20,000 people at Talking Stick Arena, where he was awarded a Gibson guitar signed by the band itself. He was selected to headline the prestigious Avondale Arizona City Festival “Bill Moore Days Festival” in 2019 as the top act to close the night and 3-day festival with great success. He was called to play for the high-profile politician Mike Pompeo, former Director of the CIA and Secretary of State of the United States.

In 2022, he was invited to participate in the prestigious “Mole de Mayo” festival in Chicago, representing Mexico among other artists from Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Spain. A new collaboration came to fruition with Steve Vai’s backing band, Jeremy Colson (drums) and Philip Bynoe (bass), on his latest single, “Eagle Warrior” (Guerrero Aguila), where he fuses pre-Columbian sounds with Rock. He was nominated and awarded with ‘Nosotros Award” for best local Rock en Español Artist in September 2022, Following a live performance at the prestigious Orpheum Theater. For 2024, He’s the recipient of the Artist to Work Grant from the Phoenix Department of Arts and Culture for his commitment to continuous artistic growth. This grant fund will allow Ángeles to travel to Cuba, Mexico, and California to produce a body of original work, a music collaboration between musicians from the United States, Cuba, and Mexico.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
All credits to my brothers Eduardo and Emilio Angeles, Pepe Iglesias de Real de Catorce, Flamenco master, Chuscales, my mentor Ernie Chavarria (RIP), my teacher Xavier Quijas Axayotl, my network of fellow musicians who share the same passion for music, and of course; our fans for being there for me

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/gangeles
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gangeles_music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gustavo.angeles.12
• Other: https://linktr.ee/gangeles

Image Credits
Harald Weinkum