Gabito Ballesteros

Gabito Ballesteros is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Mexico. He possesses an expressive, reedy tenor singing voice, and weds traditional styles — primarily norteno and mariachi — to modern melodies and production styles. His 2020 duet with Aldo Trujillo on “El Rompecabezas” brought his first media and industry attention. He became ubiquitous, frequently issuing solo singles (“El Chaman,” “El Sereno”) and collaborations. 2022′s “AMG” single with Natanael Cano and Peso Pluma debuted inside Hot 100 before topping the Hot Latin Songs chart. Ballesteros is the son of Gabriel Ballesteros Guzman and Monica Abril Medina. His mother taught him to play guitar at age eight. When he was nine, his parish priest formed a children’s mariachi band and enlisted Ballesteros. He spent three years with the group as one of four guitarists. During this time, Carlos Hoyos brought him the Jose Alfredo Jimenez song “El Rey” to perform as a vocal audition piece. He became the group’s lead vocalist. While the band attained local notoriety, Ballesteros was soon singing at street fairs, weddings, quinceañeras, political rallies, and dances on his own as well as with the group. At 12, he entered the Prof. Rafael N. Varela Secondary School and for three years participated in yearly inter-secondary competitions. He always placed first. At 14, Ballesteros decided to pursue a career in music and took summer courses in vocal discipline and guitar playing. He continued to work in church choirs and bands organized by his parish priest — who meanwhile taught him bass — and formed the band Diamante Norteno. The group would rehearse in the afternoons after school, writing and posting videos of their songs to YouTube and social media. On social media, he encountered music executive Jesus Salazar, who asked him for more material, which he provided. In September 2014, he performed the song “La Patadita” at the Tucson Expo Center, and in November, Ballesteros signed a representation and promotion contract with Texas’s No Name Records and a management deal with Arizona’s New Generation Music (Arizona). The label booked him a recording session with Juarez’s El Paso la Destructiva Norteño Band, netting him his first single, “Yo Quiero Ser.” It received some regional airplay, but it primarily served to get the young singer live gigs, either solo or as guest vocalist with norteno and mariachi bands. Ballesteros’s second single, “El Rompecabezas,” was offered in duet with Aldo Trujillo in August 2020. A month later, he released the solo ballad “Fuentes de Ortiz.” In March 2021, Ballesteros delivered the live album De Mis Favoritos, Vol. 1. and appeared with Alex Quintero on the live banda single “Hasta la Chanclas” b/w “Leyendo Caro Quintaro.” The March 2022 release of the solo “La Chaman” marked the beginning of a prolific singles run for Ballesteros. “El Sereno” followed in May. In June, the singer teamed with Junior H on “Vamos Para Arriba.” It registered 200 million streams, while its video registered 200 million more. The year’s biggest achievement was appearing alongside Natanael Cano and Peso Pluma on “AMG.” The single exploded. It garnered almost half a million digital streams, while the video rang up hundreds of millions of views as well. It entered the Hot 100 in the bottom half and eventually peaked at 41. The track later topped the Hot Latin Songs chart and finally put Ballesteros in front of a mainstream Mexican Regional audience. He capitalized on that attention in 2023 with a dazzling run of nine singles — solo and collaborations — during the first quarter. “Puro Pa’ Delante” appeared in January and was followed by the live “Casa Claras, Cosas Buenas” (with Cano and Tito Tobellino Jr.). The dramatic “Dante” in collaboration with Calle 24 appeared on February 8 and showcased Ballesteros’ dazzling guitar playing. Two days later, “Vete Ya,” in duo with Fuerza Regida, appeared and rang up six million streams in two weeks. A week later, “La Bolsa Gucci” with Miguel Cornejo was released and registered more than 15 million during the same time frame. On March 3, Ballesteros and Junior H re-teamed for the hit single “Yo Corazon.” The track collected more than 25 million streams during its first two weeks of release. ~ Thom Jurek