Honoring Latin Heritage Month 2023

SOMOS means “we are,” and as the guiding principle for Apple Music’s 2023 Latin Heritage Month celebration, SOMOS gives us a pathway to spotlighting the music that continues to inspire some of our very favorite voces. We’re highlighting the catalogs of rising superstars Gabito Ballesteros, Omar Courtz, Humbe, and GALE, who told us all about the artists they heard growing up and how that music informs their work. Immerse yourself in the personal histories of these stars with albums, playlists, interviews, and episodes of Apple Music 1’s own SOMOS Radio now.

Rising Puerto Rican star GALE’s music owes a lot to the biggest pop divas of her adolescence, but she has her parents to thank for roots that run deeper than what was on the radio. “My dad used to always listen to boleros,” she says. “And my mom, she's like an ’80s rock/pop lover.” When it comes to who GALE looked up to when she was finding her own voice, she cites a handful of powerful women who are nothing less than legends. “Selena Quintanilla was my first love,” GALE says. “I remember watching the movie a thousand-gazillion times. And then Shakira, because of her lyrics and the grunge and the honesty. [And then] Christina and Britney and Avril Lavigne; those are the artists who had an impact on me growing up.”

“With my music, I try to make a safe place where you can feel and experience things that you normally don't think about,” Humbe tells Apple Music. “A place where sometimes a melody or a piece of lyrics can say things you needed to hear.” The Monterey, Mexico, singer’s musical practice draws inspiration from a bevy of voices, both local to Mexico and beyond, but his foundation comes by way of a few of the most recognizable names in classic rock. “Every day on the way to school my dad would play rock music for us in the car,” he says. “We listened to everything from Journey to Metallica to Guns N' Roses.”

“The clearest musical memory of my youth is working at my uncle’s store and meeting all the reggaetón stars that used to buy shoes and clothes there,” Omar Courtz says. “Being able to meet my idols was incredible, like when I met Daddy Yankee I was just a kid.” Courtz’s hometown of Carolina—coincidentally known as la Tierra de Gigantes (the land of giants)—has also had a huge influence on the star he would become, providing him plenty of idols to emulate when he was making his way in music. “Great artists like Zion & Lennox, Don Omar, Héctor El Father are from Carolina and are a big part of what attracted me to the music I make,” he says. “Being from Carolina is a big part of my career because the music is listened to all over the streets of my city.”

“My parents are big fans of regional mexicana,” Gabito Ballesteros says. “People like Juan Gabriel, Rocío Dúrcal, Chalino Sánchez, among others.” For proof that the Mexican singer-songwriter has an affinity for big personalities, look no further than who he points to as having had the biggest impact on his music. “Joan Sebastian,” Ballesteros says, calling out the prolific Mexican singer who at one point would perform from atop his horse. “For the amazing show he would give, his songs, and for the person he was.”