Biography

The Villalobos Brothers were born and raised in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. They spent their childhood listening to their musical grandmother before taking up the violin and learning to sing and play other instruments, including guitar and piano.

The group has been acclaimed as one of today’s leading contemporary Mexican ensembles. Their original compositions and arrangements blend and celebrate the richness of Mexican folk music with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music.  

In 2013 they performed at Cumbre Tajin, one of the most important music festivals in Latin America. Later that year, they became the ultimate winners of the 2013 Battle of the Boroughs, one of National Public Radio’s flagship competitions, sponsored by The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, WNYC, and WQXR in New York City.

The Villalobos Brothers were the first Mexican band ever to play at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. They have also performed at the Latin Grammy Awards, Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Shea Stadium, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Broadway’s New Victory Theatre, the Miller Stage in Milwaukee, the Ford Theatres in Hollywood, and Teatro Amadeo Roldán in Havana, Cuba. In February 2014 they performed for the first time in Asia for more than 3,000 students at the opening night of Alcheringa Atlantis, the largest music festival in Northeast India. The group also performed in Moscow as special guests during the Mexican Independence Day celebration.

In 2015, the Villalobos Brothers were chosen as musical artists-in-residence for Lincoln Center Education, 92nd Street Y, Latino Arts, and the New York Botanical Garden’s exhibit “Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life”. They have collaborated with legendary musicians including Arturo O’Farrill, Antonio Sánchez, Eduardo Magallanes, Dan Zanes, and many others. This performance marks their San Francisco Symphony debut.