Villalobos Brothers features a musical melting pot

The+Villalobos+Brothers+will+perform+original+music+rooted+in+jazz+and+classical+genres.

The Villalobos Brothers will perform original music rooted in jazz and classical genres.

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Combine the music of Bach with the state of Veracruz. The result: a trio of Mexico-born brothers playing Carnegie Hall.

Finishing Humanitas Week, the Villalobos Brothers will bring their Mexican fiddling skills to WSU. Born and raised in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, the three brothers showcase their music stylized from personal influences.

The Villalobos Brothers — Ernesto, Alberto, and Luis Villalobos — began playing violin as children and spent their childhood listening to their grandmother sing and play guitar and accordion.

Later in life, the brothers split off to study abroad: Ernesto in Manhattan, Luis in Germany and Alberto in Brussels. They continued their violin studies through the classical genre separately.

“Classical is a beautiful discipline,” Alberto said. “But, at some point, we needed to write our own songs … We thought combining efforts and joining forces was the way to go.”

Ernesto described their music as Latin, but with a twist of classical and jazz roots.

Their style of music has become a fusion of folk tunes from Mexico with other styles such as bluegrass and blues, Alberto said. Mexico has a vast musical history and culture, which varies from place to place.

Veracruz was, for many centuries, the main port for many European countries, especially Spain. Through this port, musical instruments and styles could come to Mexico and influence the native people, Alberto said.

“That port eventually became like a melting pot of different cultures,” he said, “including the African … drums and singing (and) the Spanish brought the guitar and violin.”

Ernesto said their paternal grandmother was a great musical influence. Though she couldn’t read music, she could play guitar and the accordion. Ernesto likes to mix that influence into his graduate-level training, creating a style of music that is uniquely theirs.

“To make it your own is what I was most interested in,” Ernesto said. “A way of playing the violin that resembles human speech (and) translates what you’re thinking into notes.”

Each piece the Villalobos Brothers creates has a main composer, who brings the song-in-progress to rehearsal for everyone to try out and come up with suggestions, Alberto said.

Inspiration for the brothers has come from breaking down the notions of who we are and our place in the world, Ernesto said.

“I love the saying ‘when words fail, music speaks,’” Ernesto said. “Whenever there is something that is impossible to express with words, music comes to the rescue.”

Ernesto said he enjoys the adrenaline from doing shows. The energy emanating from the stage is so contagious that it is matched by the energy coming from the crowd.

Alberto said their music has also spoken of immigration and love, delivering messages to the audience relating to things happening around them.

“We are brothers who grew up in very different circumstances from many of the people I know,” Alberto said. “We were homeschooled … and lived in the countryside, so we were kind of isolated. We learned to become a team. Now, we try to communicate that same message of brotherhood.”

Working with your siblings can be tricky. Ideas are tossed around, and everyone needs to put their best foot forward and learn to be humble, Alberto said. But even when they can be passionate and stubborn, there is still much respect and love amongst the brothers.

“At the end of the day, we have the same goal, the same passion about music and delivering the message,” Alberto said.

The Villalobos Brothers will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Jones Theatre in Daggy Hall. The concert is free for students and youths. Ticket prices are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors.