She started out at the Roosevelt Tamale Parlor. She's back with a new album.

"Diana Gameros put it all down on paper, a detailed musical map designed to flip the script about immigration via a set of classic Mexican boleros she'd sung with her grandmother "and celebratory songs I wrote after finally returning to Mexico," she said. She'd spent more than a decade living in the Bay Area without legal status before procuring a visa that allowed her to visit her family in Ciudad Juárez."

""I lost a nine-year-old nephew in a tragic accident, and a cousin who's like a sister to me, her husband died in Mexico," Gameros said. "My grandmother, my favorite person, fell ill, and my mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Then there was Gaza. Trump takes office. All these things were happening." Instead of cursing the darkness, Gameros responded with "Volver a la Luz" (Return to the Light) a gorgeous collection of songs featuring many of her longtime collaborators."

Diana Gameros created a musical map of songs, blending classic Mexican boleros sung with her grandmother and celebratory songs written after returning to Mexico. She lived undocumented in the Bay Area for more than a decade before obtaining a visa to visit family in Ciudad Juárez. A Gerbode Foundation grant via Women's Audio Mission supported production. Multiple family tragedies and political events shifted the project's tone toward reflection. The resulting album, Volver a la Luz (Return to the Light), features longtime collaborators and will preview at Brava Theater on Nov. 23 with an eclectic cast of instrumentalists.

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