Editor’s Pick: Gina Chavez at Jammin’ Java
Chavez returns to the area in support of her album 'La Que Manda,' which garnered a 2020 Latin Grammy nomination.
Singer-songwriter Gina Chavez is a practicing Catholic and a lesbian who met her wife 15 years ago at the University Catholic Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The two tied the knot in 2017.
“I feel really fortunate that we are able to make that work,” Chavez told Metro Weekly a few years ago. “I think a lot of people in the LGBTQIA community feel like they can’t explore their faith or be Christian or whatever. So part of me getting on stage is just sharing my story in hopes that others feel comfortable to share their own, too. And really live out who they are instead of trying to fit some mold.”
The Catholic Church, of course, hasn’t made things easy with its anti-LGBTQ stances, but that doesn’t dissuade Chavez.
“I think if you want to be a change in your community, you have to still be in the community,” she says. “We’re both baptized Christians and have as much claim to the church as Pope Francis does. People might think, ‘Oh, you can’t be a member of this community if you do X, Y and Z,’ and it’s just not true.”
Chavez, who describes herself as “half-Mexican, half-Swiss German, and fully Texan,” touches on issues related to her faith, religion, and love in her folk-pop songs, which she performs live accompanied by a high-energy five-piece band of fellow Austin-based musicians. “We definitely like to take audiences on a journey,” she says.
A 12-time Austin Music Award winner, including Best Female Vocals in 2019 and Austin Musician of the Year in 2015, Chavez returns to the area in support of La Que Manda, which garnered a 2020 Latin Grammy nomination in the category of Best Pop/Rock Album.
Opening for Chavez at Jammin Java will be Elena La Fulana, a Nicaraguan-American singer-songwriter blending sounds of Americana with cumbia.
Sunday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. Jammin’ Java is at 227 Maple Ave. E., Vienna. Tickets are $18 to $22. Visit www.jamminjava.com or call 703-255-3747.
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