In November 2025, El Paso audio engineer Gabe Esparza earned his first Latin Grammy for his work on “Legado,” the Marcos Witt album that won Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) at the 26th annual Latin Grammy Awards. In this Q&A, Esparza reflects on the road that led him to one of music’s highest honors.

When did your passion for music begin?

Esparza: “It started the way it does for many of us, through the records we grew up with. I was a ’90s kid, introduced to hip-hop at a very young age. As the youngest of five, I was constantly raiding my siblings’ collections to listen to cassettes from Nas and The Fugees on repeat. Around the same time, my best friend introduced me to The Beatles. Those two completely different worlds shaped exactly who I am today. I love making records, but I am a music fan first. I used to sit by the radio for hours waiting to catch my favorite song on Power 102 just so I could record it onto a blank cassette. Looking back, that was my very first introduction to capturing a moment.

By the time I was graduating high school in ’04, I had developed an obsession with music production, or what I called ‘making beats.’ It was the era when Timbaland, The Neptunes, and Kanye West took over the radio, and the term ‘music producer’ became more of a known thing to me. I remember picking up Scratch Magazine, seeing interviews and photos of these guys inside massive recording studios, and thinking, ‘How can I learn how to use all of that equipment?’I was really close to going to the Navy after graduation and I think my parents wanted to encourage me to go to school instead. They bought me a PC, an audio interface, and a microphone, even though I had absolutely no idea how to use them. Mind you, this was way before YouTube existed, so all I could think of doing was go to a local music store, Danny’s Music Box, to ask someone there if there were any books or lessons I could take to learn this whole music production thing. The guy at the store told me that there are schools that teach recording and production, and he referred me to the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, Arizona. I looked it up online, saw that they had actual recording studios as classrooms, and I knew that was it for me. I spent a year working at a call center to save up, and went in 2006. School taught me the full scope of the industry, but audio engineering became my calling. I knew that was what I really wanted to make a career out of, to be the extension of the artist and producer in the studio, and that’s what I’ve been working at for over 20 years now.”

What was your initial reaction to receiving a Grammy? 

Esparza: “I was initially so happy and thankful to God. I couldn’t wait to tell my family about it because I knew it would bring them the same joy I was feeling. I didn’t go into Marcos’s project with the thought of receiving any award. It was already such an honor just to get a phone call to work with Marcos Witt, and I just wanted to do the best job possible. I knew it was a project that was bigger than me and would outlive me. That’s part of the beauty of what we do as creatives. We all want to be a part of something great that will stand the test of time, and ‘Legado’ is that kind of album. To win a Latin Grammy for it is just so surreal, and I’m forever thankful for the moment.”

Did your father have a particular reason for liking Marcos Witt’s music? Are there any songs or memories you want to share, and did you listen to the music together? 

Esparza: “My father was raised Catholic, but I always saw him as a spiritual person, not a religious one. Marcos’s music is the introduction to worship music for many Christians, especially in our Hispanic culture. Marcos covers an old song, ‘Cien Ovejas,’ that my dad loved, and it was probably one of the few times I ever saw him cry when I was young.

My dad died from a battle with a rare form of gallbladder cancer, and it was very hard to see how fragile he got over a very short span of time. But I remember even in his last days before he passed away that he would play Marcos’s music and praise God. He was a warrior until the end.”

What does this mean for you and your family? 

Esparza: “For my career, it’s an accomplishment that I’ve earned. It represents 20 years of hard work and it sets the bar for every opportunity that comes my way. For my family, it’s something more profound.

We have mourned together and this moment was a way to celebrate together. I’m just thankful it’s a way to heal some of the grief we have carried as a family. Grief is this mysterious thing that never goes away, and some moments can still be very difficult to cope with. But this moment felt like a milestone where I can say that my dad is proud of how it brought us together to celebrate. I believe that is why my parents worked so hard to bring their children to the U.S. from Mexico, so we could have a better life and pursue our dreams.

‘Legado’ is ‘lineage’ in Spanish. It is a way Marcos passed his music and legacy onto the next generation of Christian artists on this album. For my family, that term represents the lineage my dad passed on and the sacrifices our parents made so that I can have a moment like this.”

What’s next for you? 

Esparza: “One of my mentors said something that I will live by. This achievement sets the bar for me to either maintain this level of excellence in my work or surpass it. It’s a high standard, but I believe that when we love something that isn’t just about us, we will strive to do the best job we possibly can by putting in the time and effort. The goal for me now is to keep growing. This is an industry where you never stop learning because it is constantly changing, so I am focused on keeping up with it. I want to travel more, take my skills to other cities, and have the opportunity to work in the recording studios I’ve always dreamed about.”