Joel Deleón
Miguel Alejandro Mejía*The holiday season is upon us, and as we take this time to unwind, spend time with family and friends, it’s also time to express gratitude.
“I am most thankful for me and my family being healthy,” Joel Deleon tells Billboard. “During these hard times anything can happen, so I’m very grateful for that and also grateful for my fans. Without them, I wouldn’t be doing what I love and I’m overall grateful for my whole life.”
To celebrate Thanksgiving, Latin artists such as Deleon, Justin Quiles, Carolina Ross and Sebastian Yatra told Billboard what they are most thankful for this year, how they celebrate Thanksgiving, and some of the holiday traditions they hold near and dear to their hearts.
See the heartfelt answers, in alphabetical order by artist, below.
ALCOVER
“What I’m most thankful for this year is that compared to past years, I have been able to have a closer relationship with my family — especially my mom and my dad.”
ALEX ROSE
“One of the traditions that I have observed since I was little is bringing my brothers and cousins together to laugh at anecdotes and things we did when we were little. Remembering old times is a way of keeping the family together.”
ANDREKZA
“I celebrate Friendsgiving because my family is far away in Venezuela where we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. I learned about the holiday here in the U.S., which is why I celebrate with friends because, in a way, they’re the family members we chose.”
AYMÉE NUVIOLA
“How I celebrate is by giving thanks to God for all the blessings that he has given me and my loved ones. I also thank God for the lessons learned. I thank God in a discreet way from the intimacy of my home. A true communion with God comes from a close relationship you can have with Him at all times. There’s no way I can sum up all I’m thankful for one day out of the year because every single thing that happens or is possible, it’s because of Him and for Him. Praise the Lord!”
BRRAY
“A tradition that I continue today is that we always take turns to host. And I celebrate by eating everything on the menu, that’s what I do on Thanksgiving.”
BRYANNE
“A Thanksgiving tradition is that I continue to help my mother with the turkey, and baking goodies. Although our tradition is more Latin, it is still one of my favorite holidays and especially this year when we could all gather again.”
CALACOTE
“I celebrate Thanksgiving by taking a break to be with friends and family.”
CARMEN DELEON
“Being Venezuelan, we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving growing up. Since living in the U.S., I’ve enjoyed being able to take the time to focus on gratitude. I think it’s something to be mindful of at this time and throughout the year.”
CAROLINA ROSS
“I celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom, aunts, my cousins, and nephews. We all come together and eat at this really long table because we’re a big family, and that’s something I’m thankful for every year.”
CASPER MAGICO
“I’m thankful that things are going back to ‘normal.’ They’re opening many venues where we’re able to have shows and share again with our fans, obviously following protocols. I’m happy and so thankful to be able to have that contact again with our fans.”
CHEO GALLEGO
“I’m most thankful about my music reaching pockets of the world I never thought it could reach. That’s taught me to be more patient and grateful. I’ve been working on so many projects, created tons of music and I’ve been able to stay motivated to make music forever.”
DANNY (COASTCITY)
“We celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting family and eating authentic Puerto Rican food: alcapurrias, pasteles, arroz con gandules and lechón.”
JEAN (COASTCITY)
“I celebrate by spending my time with the most meaningful people in my life, laughing, smiling, and living in the moment to the fullest.”
ELADIO CARRION
“I’m thankful for my family, my team, for everything that’s happened to me this year musically that’s helped me grow as a musician and as a person.”
ELVIS CRESPO
“To this very day, we continue our family tradition of dining with some of my favorite food from the island: arroz con gandules, tembleque and coditos salad.”
PEDRO TOVAR (ESLABON ARMADO)
“I celebrate with my family and we’re not the type to eat turkey. Instead, we eat tamales, sometimes pozole, and drink champurrado. We enjoy our time with family members since I don’t have many friends.”
FEID
“It’s only my second year celebrating Thanksgiving and my first year we cooked a nice pavito (turkey). This is a new celebration for me and I know it is an important day in the U.S. so I embrace it and use the time to be thankful for everything. I have no traditions yet but maybe cook and have fun with friends. I don’t have family here so we will do Friendsgiving and be grateful. Yessir!”
FLORES
“I think as the Pandemic has unfolded, it has changed many of our perspectives on what we can be thankful for. It has put more of the most important things in our lives into hyper-focus. That for me has been the safety of my family, here and abroad. That we are able to wake up and say hello to my mothers, sisters, and brothers. Knowing so many have lost their loved ones, myself having lost friends to COVID. This year, I am deeply thankful for the fact we have a vaccine and we are all safe.”
FOREIGN TECK
“Thanksgiving for me is usually small, I don’t have a very big family. I’m an only child and my family is scattered between New York, Florida & the Dominican Republic so it’s usually a few of us but it’s more about spending it with the people I always love.”
GERARDO ORTIZ
“Thanksgiving is a very special holiday for me because I can reunite with my family to give thanks for all the blessings. On Thanksgiving, we eat tons of delicious food, we laugh, drink and share stories.”
GRUPO DIEZ 4TRO
“I celebrate Thanksgiving by being together with my family and eating a traditional [Mexican] meal: tamales and pozole.
JAY WHEELER
“I’m thankful for all the incredible things that happened in my career thanks to my fans. I’m also thankful that my mom recovered from cancer and that I’m at a really beautiful point in my career. That I’m about to embark on my first tour and that that I am alive and healthy.”
JENCARLOS CANELA
“I am most thankful for mine, my family, and my friends’ health. I am thankful to see everyone going out, traveling, and having fun again. I am also thankful for the things I’ve taken for granted like having a roof over my head, food to eat, water to drink, generating income doing what I love. So many people are really struggling pre and post-pandemic. I’m blessed and grateful.”
JOEL DELEON
“To be quite honest, I don’t remember the last time I was home for Thanksgiving. I would say maybe about three years ago, but we would always usually go to my grandma’s house, which is right next to my house. Everyone brings a little bit of food, someone would bring the pies, someone would bring the turkey, the mash potatoes then we would sit down talk, laugh. And at the end of the day, each of us would say one thing we are grateful for.”
JONATAN SANCHEZ
“I’m thankful for how magical 2021 has been, for the songs I’ve been able to write. But what I’m most thankful for is that after so much time, to have been able to reunite with the people I love most. To see and be able to hug them made my heart full.”
JOSSEF
“I celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. Normally, we would go on a cruise trip this time of year, but there is COVID! So we’ll celebrate it at home in Puerto Rico. We have parties anywhere so it doesn’t matter where we are, we always have the best time!”
JUSTIN QUILES
“I celebrate with my family, my mother, my siblings, and my grandmother. We typically have turkey, arroz con gandules, potato salad, pasteles, a little bit of everything. There’s music playing, we’re dancing and having some good drinks.”
KEVIN ORTIZ
“Some of the traditions we have as a family is that we each bring a different type of dish that we can all share. And we always try to spend as much time together as possible, which makes my parents very happy and they feel loved.”
LENIN RAMIREZ
“I spend Thanksgiving with my family. We eat turkey, potatoes, corn and we pray and give thanks to God for being alive, healthy, for our food, work, and our family.”
LITO MC CASSIDY
“First and foremost I’m thankful for being alive. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard for many families around the world. For me, being alive is now more precious than ever.”
LUIS CORONEL
“This year brought many challenges, most of which we have gone through the worst part. First and foremost, I am thankful for my health, having gone through COVID was not fun at all and I am glad I had no trouble after. I am thankful for my family not only this year but every year. Finally, I am thankful for new beginnings.”
Rise Against have released a new single, ‘Nod’, their first new music since 2022.
The new track kicks off the punk band’s “inspired next chapter” and was produced by Catherine Marks. “I swear to God this can’t wait,” vocalist and lyricist Tim McIlrath sings at the top of the song’s chorus. “Not one more minute, one more day.”
“Nod is about the solace we find in community,” said McIlrath in a press release. “It’s about the comfort in knowing that we are not alone. This comfort can temper our anger and our frustration, at least temporarily.”
‘Nod’ follows the band’s 2021 album ‘Nowhere Generation’. It was followed by an EP titled ‘Nowhere Sessions’ which included live versions of songs from the album.
Tracks such as ‘Talking To Ourselves’, ‘Broken Dreams, Inc.’ and the LP’s titular single were re-imagined as live recordings, as well as a cut of their 2008 song ‘Savior’ and covers of Misfits‘ ‘Hybrid Moments’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s ‘Fortunate Son’.
Check out ‘Nod’ below:
the release of ‘Nod’ arrives just before Rise Against head out on a UK and European tour alongside L.S. Dunes and Sondaschule.
They’ll kick off the shows on January 28 in Dublin, before heading to Belfast on 29. Then, in February, they’ll head to Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Zurich and more, before wrapping up the tour in Vienna on February 22.
The tour also includes stops at London’s O2 Brixton Academy, Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse and Birmingham’s O2 Academy on February 6, 8 and 9 respectively. You can find a full list of dates further down. You can find tickets to the UK and Ireland dates here.
JANUARY
28 – 3Olympia – Dublin, Ireland
29 – Telegraph – Belfast, Northern Ireland
FEBRUARY
2 – L’Olympia – Paris, France
4 – O13 – Tillburg, Netherlands
5 – Forrest National – Brussels, Belgium
6 – O2 Brixton Academy – London, UK
8 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK
9 – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK
12 – Velodrom – Berlin, Germany
14 – Mitsubishi Electric Hall – Düsseldorf, Germany
15 – Sporthalle – Hamburg, Germany
17 – Zenith – Munich, Germany
18 – myticket Jahrhunderthalle – Frankfurt, Germany
21 – Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
22 –Stadthalle – Vienna, Austria