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Villalobos Brothers 'Aliens of Extraordinary Ability'

Mexican band based in New York City flex their poetic muscles at Capilano University
Villalobos
The Villalobos Brothers are originally from Veracruz, Mexico, a seaside city on the country’s east coast that has a long history of being a melting pot for different cultures from around the world.

Villalobos Brothers perform at The BlueShore at CapU tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets $32/$29. For more information visit capilanou.ca.

Vancouver audiences have a chance to see an exceptional concert tonight from a band that has just recently been getting Canadian exposure.   

The Villalobos Brothers, a Mexican band now based in New York, are in the midst of a nine-date tour.
For audiences, it will be a chance to see the band perform its unique mix of traditional coastal Mexican music coloured with masterful jazz and classical harmonies.

The band’s music also pays homage to famous American crooners from the past, such as Sam Cooke. Though, if you ask them about it, the Villalobos Brothers will tell you how Cooke’s music found its way into their oeuvre by accident,  even if the soul legend’s songs of civic engagement and rebellion strike a chord with them now.

Ernesto Villalobos, the oldest of the brothers, refers to the initial inclusion of Sam Cooke songs in the group’s early repertoire as “circumstantial pieces.”

The Villalobos Brothers, made up of Ernesto and other brothers Luis and Alberto, as well as Humberto Flores, Rosa Ávila, and Leo Sherman, weren’t particularly familiar with the music of Cooke prior to including covers and new arrangements of the singer’s songs on its 2012 release, Aliens of Extraordinary Ability.

They were first commissioned to write new arrangements for Cooke songs by Jody Klein, head of ABKCO Records in New York and son of former manager to The Beatles, Allen Klein.

“(Jody) kind of inherited the catalogue of The Beatles, of the Rolling Stones, of Sam Cooke,” explains Ernesto. “When his father passed, he approached me and said ‘Ernesto, why don’t you write an arrangement for “A Change Is Gonna Come” for my father’s funeral?’

As circumstantial as the whole situation felt back then, that song and the music of Cooke is now firmly entrenched in the band’s passionate musical outlook.

“Ever since we have incorporated it, of course,” Ernesto says. “It’s such a great song, particularly ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ because it was written during the civil rights movement but now it kind of reflects the need for change within the Latino community as well.”

Ernesto says some of the Latino community, specifically in the U.S., still needs to find its voice. “We still need to flex our poetical muscles. That comes in many fashions: it comes through music, it comes through culture, it comes through activism and engagement,” he says.

The band, Ernesto says, helps people find their voice through its music, which fuses guitar, vocals, violin, and a rhythm section into something lively and uplifting.  

The brothers are originally from Veracruz, Mexico, a seaside city on the country’s east coast that has a long history of being a melting pot for different cultures from around the world. Because of this, they were exposed to Spanish, African, French and American culture from a young age. This internationalism has certainly found its way into the soul of their music.

Juan Kanagui, who manages the Villalobos Brothers, describes the band’s shows as a spectacle. “It’s an experience. It’s not background music – it’s very smart, it’s honest, it’s uplifting, dazzling,” Kanagui says.

Ernesto adds that Villalobos Brothers concerts are about sharing with one another and making the show feel like an intimate, family affair. “We look forward to meeting out new family in Vancouver,” he says.

The Villalobos Brothers concert is tonight (Friday, March 3) at the BlueShore. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $29-$32 and can be purchased by calling 604-990-7810.