Gabriela Sepúlveda

Gabriela Sepúlveda (born September 21, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter, and actress of Mexican-Chilean descent singing in both Spanish as well as English. She first gained national and international recognition performing on major television reality shows including the popular Saturday night Univision program, Sabádo Gigante, Tengo Talento Mucho Talento in 2011), La Voz Kids in 2013 and American Idol in 2016. Sepulveda made her acting debut in 2017 for the Telemundo network series, Jenni Rivera: Mariposa de Barrio, where she played, Jenicka López, the youngest daughter of Mexican-American singer, Jenni Rivera. She is known for performing the U.S. anthem for the San Francisco Bay Area sport's teams the San Francisco Giants, the San Francisco 49ers, the San Jose Earthquakes, the San Jose Sharks, and the Oakland A's. the Grammy winning Regional Mexican band, Banda Los Sebastianes, with the song from Grupo Liberación, "Ese Loco Soy Yo" during their concert at Salinas Sports Complex. Sepulveda has opened concerts for regional mexican artists Charlie Zaa, El Dasa, Banda Los Sebastianes and has been invited various times to sing the U.S. She has been featured on several radio shows, talk shows, and magazines including Acceso Total, Dante Night Show, Otra Noche con Ustedes, Mañana Latina, Famosos, Buenos Días con Celina, Stereo Play Beat, El Show International de Paula Maruri, Encuentro en la Bahía, El Show Pistolero de Chicago, Comunidad del Valle, and in La Bamba Magazine.

Life and career

1999–2015: Early life and career beginnings Gabriela Sepulveda was born and raised in San Jose, California. Her mother, Diana, is of Mexican descent and her father, Omar Sepulveda, is of Chilean descent. She was exposed to music early on in her life as her father plays several South American instruments and composes Andean music. She stated in one of her interviews that, “the passion of music runs in the family.” Gabriela has mentioned in several interviews that she was always an entertainer even at a very young age, singing and making jokes to the point where her family ended up nicknaming her, “The Showgirl.” In 2010, Sepulveda released her first CD is 2010 titled Mis Primeras Canciones. She wrote her first song “Ya No Te Quiero” at the age of nine and released the song on her new YouTube channel when she was twelve.

Sepulveda was only 8 when she began performing on television shows. After her third place winning in Juguemos a Cantar, Sepulveda began to get invited to various radio shows around the Bay Area as well as notable Spanish-speaking programs. She was invited to sing in Univision's television shows, Al Despertar, and Encuentro en La Bahía. Gabriela went to participate in two segments of the popular show Sabado Gigante performing for a total of four times on the family-friendly program. She participated in the first segment, Los Rancheritos, twice, once in 2009 and again in 2010, winning both times.

In 2011 she participated in another segment, Estellas de Futuro and made it to the semi-finals. Sepulveda auditioned with the song, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” by The Shirelles for the judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Conick Jr. All three judges said “yes” and she was given the Golden Ticket to Hollywood. She was eliminated later in the season. Sepulveda portrayed Rivera's youngest daughter, Jenicka López Rivera, ages twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen- year-old. Press described Sepulveda's character as being "a bright, sweet girl, and beautiful from the soul...whose ingenuity allows her to delve into any subject no matter how deep it may be and win the game with a wide advantage, all while maintaining his irresistible smile." Shortly after, the series aired in the streaming platform of Netflix Latinoamérica, and on January 1, 2020, the series made its debut on, Netflix USA.

2014–2022: Viral video and The "Star Spangled Banner" In 2018, Sepulveda caught the attention of internet users when her video performing a cover of Selena Quintanilla's "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom", in a street in South Korea made her viral, reaching more than 3 million views to this day. Gabriela Sepulveda has been invited to perform for several notable sports teams from the San Francisco Bay Area. On September 18, 2022, Gabriela was invited to perform for the NFL at the San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks game at Levi's Stadium for 68,500 people in honor of Latino Heritage Month. September 13, 2014, she was asked to sing the U.S. National Anthem for the San Francisco Giants. On December 11, 2014, she was first invited to perform the Star Spangled Banner for the San Jose ice hockey team, the Sharks, and she was invited again to perform the anthem in November 2022 for Los Tiburones Night, in honor of Latino Heritage Month. In October 2022, Gabriela was also awarded at the Josie Music Awards. World Music Artist Of The Year with her original song, "De Color Rosa," cowritten by herself and Diana Sepulveda. Also in 2022, she was awarded the title, Revelación Juvenil Del Año en Regional Mexicano (Youth Revelation of Regional Mexican Music of the Year) at the prestigious Grandeza Hispana International Awards held in Mexico City in June 2022. In 2022, she was recognized by the Las Vegas International Press Association with Presea Máximo Orgullo Hispano in Chicago, Illinois. Her work as a Communication and Journalism student from Santa Clara University has also been honored and recognized. Her podcast "Mindfulness Mid Pandemic" won first place in the Audio Documentary category at the national competition College Media Association Film Festival that recognizes and awards high-quality journalism

Education and personal life n June 2021, Sepulveda graduated from Santa Clara University with a double degree in Communication and Ethnic Studies. Her work as a Communication and Journalism student from Santa Clara University was nationally recognized when her podcast "Mindfulness Mid Pandemic" won first place in the Audio Documentary category at the nationally-acclaimed College Media Association Film Festival that recognizes and awards high-quality journalism Sepulveda has also actively voiced her support for animal rights and supports the organization PETA and has also performed numerous times for nonprofit organizations like the Children's Discovery Museum, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and SIREN (Services, Immigrant, Refugees, Education Network). She is also the ambassador for the organization, “Juntos por la Vida”, which works to help suicidal teens and victims of abuse.

Awards and nominations

Grandeza Hispana International Awards

College Media Association Film and Audio Festival