It’s a big situation since I don’t have my family with me. I still keep my way of being. I haven’t changed from that, even though life seems to be harsh sometimes.
I’m part of a really supportive community. And I think that does help to navigate the different situations.
Generation W spoke to NY-based Gina D’Soto ahead of her performance at Generation W: New York City – Nu Blu from 7PM Monday 1st June 2026
GW: What age did you move to New York?
Gina D’Soto: I moved right after I finished college, so it was around 19, 20.
GW: What were the major differences that you saw when you moved there?
Gina D’Soto: Well, I was studying first in Canada, so it was a different situation from Cuba to Canada and then from Canada to New York. All three are very different cities. However, they have this cosmopolitan vibe that makes them very unique and somehow they kind of are together, all three, in that way.
So, in terms of musicianship, it was very different, everything from city to city. But in terms of the vibe, I somehow was able to accommodate because there’s some similarities between all three cities.
GW: How is Canada similar to Cuba?
Gina D’Soto: Because in Montreal, there’s always this thing that Canadian people are super nice. And it’s true, they’re really, really nice. They have good manners, I will say that.
I think that’s how I find it similar to Cuba. The people in Cuba are really nice. They’re busy too, day to day, but they’re still welcoming.
GW: Have you managed to stay connected to how you were raised since moving to New York?
Gina D’Soto: It’s a big situation since I don’t have my family with me. I still keep my way of being. I haven’t changed from that, even though life seems to be harsh sometimes.
I’m part of a really supportive community. And I think that does help to navigate the different situations.
GW: When you were in Montreal, did you get close to the jazz elements of the city?
Gina D’Soto: I graduated in a class to pursue a minor on jazz voice. It was not my introduction to jazz, but it deepened my knowledge and understanding of it.
GW: What kind of music are you making right now?
Gina D’Soto: I guess I’ll call the thing that I do Latin R&B. However, I mix it with a lot of other different genres from Cuba, from Brazil.
I always try to keep myself updated with what kind of music is out there. But I grew up listening to a lot of R&B, so that’s why I would say I make Latin R&B.
GW: Would you say you keep jazz in the music you make now?
Gina D’Soto: I try to mix jazz with a lot of things that I want to do in relation with music. It’s not like I put it aside. I still go to jazz shows. I guess most of my friends are jazz musicians. So, it’s not that I completely erased it. Everything that you know in life becomes a tool for whatever you want to do or pursue eventually.
Jazz has been part of who I am. And I still apply it whenever I can, however I can do it.
GW: Of course Cuba has great ties to jazz.
Gina D’Soto: There’s a big scene in the popular music. Everybody sings and dances to it. There’s a lot of jazz music there, but there’s also a lot of musicians. And there’s a big scene where you could go and listen to it. Even though there’s not a big jazz education at schools, because it’s very classically trained, people still learn the technicalities and everything that is part of the jazz world.
GW: What feels different about the way you’re approaching music this year compared to last year?
Gina D’Soto: I’m definitely taking more of my time trying to put music out. Last year, I was completely focused on recording and releasing the EP. And that took not all of my time, but a lot of energy.
This year, I’m experimenting more with genres, more production. And also, I’m trying to do more things in my native language, Spanish. So I’m trying to go more towards that.
Because last year, what I did was mainly in English. I’m trying to embrace the fact that I can also write and do a lot of things in Spanish, even though it’s not what I speak on a day-to-day
GW: Have you played Nublu before?
Gina D’Soto: I enjoy a lot of shows at Nublu. Nublu is a really great place. There are two stages. I did the release of my EP at one of the stages. And then I performed several times at the most known one.
GW: How long have you been living in New York?
Gina D’Soto: I believe next year will be 10 years.
GW: What made you decide that you wanted to live in New York?
Gina D’Soto: I finished my minor, and that’s why I applied for a master’s degree. However, I didn’t end up pursuing it, as I just started to work. Because as you probably know, life in New York is not the cheapest.
I just started working and meeting people, performing here, going to jam sessions. And it’s not like I forgot about that, it’s just like it was not my interest anymore. I’d rather do some other things than just be stuck at school.
However, that does not mean that I didn’t learn.
GW: How have you made friends in New York?
Gina D’Soto: Sometimes from word of mouth. Whenever I perform there are people that I’ve never seen in my life. But they end up being really great people, and we just become friends.
Throughout the years, we just grow that friendship.
Other people I’ve met through friends of friends, collaborating, songwriting camps.
GW: Do you feel like New York is still a place that’s going to create stars?
Gina D’Soto: I think it’s never stopped. It’s just like with the rising of tech and AI and this and that, it has shifted the idea of where all the stars or where all the musicians might be.
So right now you have a lot of great musicians in LA, in San Francisco, in Miami. In the Latin side, there’s a lot of openings in Mexico and Colombia, Spain. So it’s not as centralized as it was before.
But New York still produces a lot of amazing musicians.
GW: Do you think New York will be your home for life?
Gina D’Soto: No. I’m still young and there’s a lot of places I want to visit and discover. So far, it’s been really good to me.
I don’t know what the future has in store for myself and the music that I do. But so far, I’m really enjoying this moment.
GW: Have you ever been to England?
Gina D’Soto: No, I really want to go there.
GW: What about Spain?
Gina D’Soto: I’ve never been to the other side of the world. I really want to eventually.
GW: Do you stay in touch back home a lot?
Gina D’Soto: I haven’t visited in a while because of the situation right now.
GW: Which women inspired you the most in life?
Gina D’Soto: I don’t want to be specific on names, but I’m really inspired by women writers, and females that are really into striving for as much as they can.
The more you learn, the more you can do. All these females that are musicians and songwriters and producers and doing all this and that, that is very, very, very inspiring.
GW: Do you have a community of women in New York that support each other?
Gina D’Soto: What would it be of me or anybody in my circle without that support, without my female support?
GW: Who were your biggest role models growing up?
Gina D’Soto: My dad. Everything that I’ve learned and the way that I’ve been constructing my character and a lot of things have happened because of him.
GW: Were your friends and family scared for you when you left home at such a young age?
Gina D’Soto: Oh, yeah. They were really scared for me. People back home follow my career, they comment, they interact with it in their social media forums and whatnot. They’re very supportive.
Not only my mom and dad, but everybody else that’s been there, my family and even friends, they support the music that I do and the things that I create, which makes me really happy.
GW: Can you remember dreaming about New York as a child?
Gina D’Soto: I guess maybe I was around 12 or 13, and I was part of the jazz band at school. I was just starting to learn about jazz.
All of these musicians and instrumentalists and everybody that I got to learn from inspired me a lot. And I guess that was the point where I was like, it would be so cool or interesting to visit this place and be at the spaces that these people were at.
GW: Which R&B artists connected with you the most?
Gina D’Soto: Growing up, Michael Jackson.
Amy Winehouse too. She had a lot of R&B influence in her music as well.
And I guess I was listening to a lot of quartets like Boyz II Men.
GW: Do you ever feel pressure because of the popularity of Latin music to sound a certain way?
Gina D’Soto: At the beginning, I felt a lot of pressure. But then I came to terms with, I don’t owe nothing to anyone. I don’t have to make the music that they want to listen to. I have to make the music that I want to listen to.
Because at the end, I’m the one creating this thing. If somebody comes along and says, “Why don’t you do this thing?”, I’d be like, “Why don’t you try another artist?”
There’s things I’m not willing to compromise, especially when it comes to the sound.