Gabriel Dávila

Musician / Guitar hero from La Paz, Colombia. He vanished from the music scene sometime during the mid '90s and he's believed to have relocated to the United States. According to the Bolivian podcast: "Historias trágicas en la música nacional" / "Tragic stories in national music" from 20.05.20, after his departure to USA, nobody heard about him again. "However, the story we wish to highlight is that of Gabriel Dávila, former guitarist for Metalmorfosis (2) and Sacrilegio (3), who was also beginning a solo career. After releasing the album "Amante Gitano" and joining the successful band Sacrilegio, some people say he moved to the United States (around the end of the 1990s). However, he was never heard from again. If anyone is listening to this program and knows the whereabouts of Gabriel Dávila, we ask that they contact "La Comunidad del Vinilo" to reassure his fans and all those who knew him." In 1989, the La Paz-based group METALMORFOSIS finally dissolved, and many of its members went on to form other groups. Lead vocalist Mauricio Torres embarked on another project called "Platino" alongside some members of the also defunct La Paz-based band PRINKS. Vladimir Arzabe formed the project "Quo Vadis" alongside other 80s rock personalities—such as José Luis Morales and Milagros Santalla. This moment was taken advantage of by Gabriel Dávila to work on some compositions he had long wanted to release as a solo artist. At the same time, he was also part of a similar project alongside Chilean-Bolivian singer Vladimir Durán Martínez—formerly of Stratus—called AUDACITY. In the mid-1990s, GABRIEL DÁVILA (Ariete) had the "Gypsy Lover" project in constant evolution and was the first artist in the history of Bolivian rock to dare to work "fully" on the release of a solo album, working on the rhythm section, drums, electric bass, keyboards, synthesizers, lyrics, vocals, and choral arrangements. Around that time, he recruited Vladimir Durán Martínez to handle the vocals. The result was an impressive set of songs, all linked to the "metal" genre, with slow songs, metal ballads, heavy metal, and power metal. With songs that stand out among them "El rey del Rock And Roll," "Corsario Negro," "Vivir en Libertad," "El Último Adios," and "Te hallaré y te amaré," the album was finally titled "Gypsy Lover" (SLPE-3355). The album was financed by the family of GABRIEL DÁVILA (ARIETE), who hired the studios of the Éxito de Discolandia label to capture the artist's individual dream. Vladimir Durán said about it: “…The album came out thanks to the efforts of his mother and his entire family, and my absolute cooperation and commitment. We managed to release a piece that has been admired throughout the rest of the world to this day, in Spain, in Chile, specifically in Arica and Antofagasta—on my own initiative. But well, it died; it wasn't distributed, it had a short life, because if there isn't someone committed to making this a death for the country and the world, it won't be achieved. You have to have the media at your disposal, like Stratus had in its time… that's what was missing from the project I did with Dávila. I think it's the most transcendental project I did in Bolivia…” Mauricio Torres recounted in a press release: the album was presented at the La Luna pub on Oruro Street in downtown La Paz, with guest musicians and the presence of the great singer Vladimir Durán Martínez. However, that presentation turned out to be a failure in attendance and album sales. “…The musician, despite the discouragement this situation left him, handed in another 50 records on consignment at the same venue, hoping to put them up for sale. However, such was his bad luck that, a few months later, thieves broke into the club and stole not only equipment and money, but also Gabriel's records, and with them his desire to make it big in music. It is believed that the rest of the records are in the possession of his family, since they, or Discolandia, did not sell them…” Later, GABRIEL DAVILA devoted himself to working on other musical projects, one of the most famous being SACRILEGIO. Then, in the mid-nineties, he disappeared from the scene to settle in the United States, and to this day, no one knows his whereabouts. Trivia: Gabriel did not have a guitar when he joined Metalmorfosis, later he acquired one. He recorded all the instruments on his only solo record "Amante Gitano" (except the vocals, the guest vocalist was Vladimir Durán, Chilean vocalist for the Bolivia Hard Rock band Stratus (21)). He also did all the arrangements and the mastering of the tracks.