One day, Joshua Josué was watching the television and saw the music video for “La Bamba” performed by Los Lobos. This was the first seed planted in his music career.  

This moment was Josué’s first time watching Latinos portrayed as musicians, and in this case as rock and roll musicians. A Mexican-American band that emanate from Los Angeles, Los Lobos have brought the world of Chicano music to the present.  

After hearing about Los Lobos, Josué saw the 1987 classic Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba. “It was the first time I’d seen Latinos as the main character in a movie in which they weren’t a criminal or something similar,” Josué said. “Seeing The Lobos and Ritchie Valens inspired me because they look like people in my family, and they’re not the bad guys.” 

The film tells the story of songwriter, singer, and guitarist Ritchie Valens up until his tragic passing in an airplane accident, in addition to his rise in music with hits like “Come On Let’s Go,” “Donna,” “We Belong Together,” and his most famous song “La Bamba.” He is the first Latino rock star who broke boundaries by blending Latin rhythms with rock and roll and was a key figure in what came to be known as the Chicano Rock movement.  

Since Josué wanted to be like Valens, he bought a guitar and started learning Ritchie Valens songs. He also started writing his own songs, just like Valens. In order to do this, he bought La Bamba’s soundtrack and three of Valens records: Ritchie Valens, Ritchie, and In Concert At Pacoima Jr. High.

Other artists that inspired Josué have been Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, and Vicente Fernández. He highlights Johnny Cash’s songs that reflect on working class struggle and the counterpoint in Mexico through Vicente Fernández, as he also sings of working class and real life issues. 

Josué favorite part of the music industry, though, is performing live.  

“So much of the work is behind the scenes with emailing, loading in loading out, sound checks, trying to sell merchandise. But by performing live, I can connect with my fans and with people and play songs,” he said.  

The inspiration, writing, practice, patience, time and live performance has all led to his first album Beneath the Sand. 

This album features 10 songs highlighting the journey of loss, love, and rebirth while blending Americana, Chicano Rock, Latin Folk and Rock N’ Roll. It was written on his journey through Mexico and Central America.  

After Josué lost a loved one, all he wanted was to disappear and deal with his grief in his own way. He headed towards Central America on his bike with the goal of living off the grid. Therefore, Beneath the Sand could be a metaphor that is open for interpretation and has an important meaning to Josué. Therefore, he titled this album because it’s the story of an experience. 

While working on his first album, he got to experience something artists from across the spectrum rarely get to do: work alongside his inspiration and reason why he is a musician. Because of this, Beneath the Sand has an all-star line-up of musical guests: Rowland Salley and Hershel Yatovitz from Silvertone, Mitch Marine from Dwight Yoakam’s band, Steve Berlin from Los Lobos, Joel Guzmán from Los Super Seven, and Murry Hammond from the Old 97s. 

Josué also sings and writes songs both in English and Spanish, which is something not many artists do in these days.  

“Singing in Spanish, I feel liberated to do it. This is my identity. I think me singing in Spanish helps share and say don’t be embarrassed, just be who you are,” he said. 

“If your Spanish sounds like Mexican Spanish, Los Angeles Spanish, or Florida Spanish, or just Pocho Spanish, just be who you are and embrace who you are. We don’t need to be building borders within our own community and boundaries within our community. I feel singing in Spanish allows me to express that sentiment more,” he added, emphasizing on identity and singing with your own voice regardless of what the language is.  

Every guest featured in the album helped Josué avoid taking bumps in the road. They would suggest him to do things differently, give him suggestions as to what instrument should go with the recording, and generally what would make the song sound better. All these tips and tricks were tailored to make his first album sound exactly as it sounded in his head.  

When speaking of the themes laid out in the album, he shed light on his Chicano identity, being based in Los Angeles but still rooted in Mexican culture. 

“It’s not just I’m Mexican, or I’m American. There’s this beautiful tapestry of art that crosses all borders, and people aren’t jut one thing or another. We all bleed into each other,” he said.  

Beneath the Sand has two songs nominated for GRAMMY nominations: “Beneath the Sand” for Best American Roots song and “La Chica Me Cantó” for Best Latin Rock or alternative performance. This album is preceded and followed by immense excitement and will release on Aug. 8, 2025.

Images taken from joshuajosuemusic.com