A curated monthly dose of lifestyle, culture, and rhythm from San Miguel de Allende.
Dilos Grau’s latest release marks a turning point in his journey as an artist. Once known for performing covers, he now reveals his own voice with two original singles that showcase his evolution, influences, and vision as a musician bridging cultures and boundaries.
For the launch of Savant’s new Artist Highlights series, we sat down with Gonz Bravo, now know also as his stage name Dilos Grau, to talk about his evolution from cover-band mainstay to songwriter carving out a sound of his own. His story moves between El Paso, San Miguel de Allende, and the liminal space “where the sorcerers cross.”
“I came up with the name from a book Donde Cruzan los Brujos. He was a powerful shaman,” Gonz explains. The title translates to “Where the Sorcerers Cross”, a text about discipline, perception, and stepping outside the ordinary. Choosing it as inspiration feels like a mirror of his own artistic journey, crossing boundaries, breaking habits, and creating songs as a way of seeing beyond the everyday.
“When I first listened to Eric Clapton’s Unplugged I thought, I want to do that more than anything, and my uncle Javier was the one that showed me that it was possible.”
Growing up in El Paso exposed him to sounds he might never have encountered in Mexico: “country, blues, Steve Miller Band, The Grateful Dead, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Dylan, among others.”
And San Miguel? The city left its mark in a way only live music can. “Like most people that live here or pass through, watching Pilaseca play live at Mama Mia back in the day was really something.”
Asked about dream collaborators, he doesn’t hesitate: “Living or dead?! Probably Ray LaMontagne.”
Before going solo, Gonz cut his teeth with Los Rabeats, one of San Miguel’s most in-demand cover bands. “It was important to go through that experience because it taught me things you can’t learn any other way, how to develop your guitar sound and your singing, how to deal with nerves, feeling comfortable on stage, playing with different musicians.”
But there’s a limit. “Yeah, it wore me down completely to the point where I wasn’t enjoying playing anymore. It’s like gigging as a stand-up comedian but your material is other comics’ best bits, it’s damaging creatively.”
The breaking point arrived quietly: “When I realized I wasn’t having fun anymore, it was time to use what I learned for my own project.”
Since August, Gonz has released two singles as Dilos Grau, Flor and Búho. “I just want people to enjoy them,” he says with disarming simplicity.
The shift from covers to originals, though, has been transformative. “It’s the best feeling to create something out of nothing and watch how it takes on a life of its own, and be surprised by how they turn out different than what you had in mind by the end of the process.”
That leap into vulnerability has defined this new chapter. “I’m proud of myself for having the balls to do it, it takes courage to go down a creative path, especially solo.”
Defining his sound, he says, wasn’t the hard part. “It didn’t feel hard, it actually came about quite naturally. It’s the songwriting and developing that’s hard.”
While his catalog is currently in Spanish, he’s already looking ahead. “Definitely will release some stuff in English, working on some stuff now actually.”
“Filming my music videos with Sky Richards, who is an incredibly talented local videographer and photographer, was such a fun and creative process. They turned out better than I had even imagined. That’s one of the coolest things about creating in San Miguel, its community of talented people who are excited to collaborate and share their gifts on each other’s projects.”
Together, they also produced a tintype photo series at Richards’ studio, Plata Negra, shown at Trapo Gallery on August 9th to mark the debut of Gonz’s singles and videos.
As for writing, Gonz admits: “It’s in the back of my mind how performing them live will be and how to go about that, but I focus on the songwriting mostly as the heart of my creative process.”
“Finishing projects and having to present them, it’s not in my wheelhouse. Having that expo at Trapo Galeria was the most vulnerable I’ve felt in a long time. I just like the creative process, I can’t deal with all the rest of it, inviting people, dealing with social media really sucks.”
His honesty reflects the reality for independent musicians today, who often find themselves acting as their own managers, bookers, PR reps, and content creators. In an oversaturated landscape, standing out requires not just talent but stamina, reinvention, and vision.
Fortunately, Gonz has all three, along with a community like San Miguel to back him up.
When pressed on whether he sees himself as naturally gifted or as someone grinding every day to carve out a sound, he pauses: “I think I just have sensibility.”
It’s the kind of answer that doesn’t resolve the question, but reframes it. In every song, every risk, every crossroad, Dilos Grau embodies the paradox of the artist who may or may not be a savant, but who reminds us why we ask the question in the first place.
Curated by Dilos Grau
We're Savant, San Miguel de Allende’s new online lifestyle and culture magazine. Created for curious travelers, locals, and design and food lovers alike, Savant offers curated stories and an authentic look into the people, places, and passions that shape this iconic town. More than a publication, it’s a cultural community, and your invitation to experience San Miguel like never before.
A curated monthly dose of lifestyle, culture, and rhythm from San Miguel.
