Ernesto Villalobos

I love wasabi. And September is my favorite month in New York. But above all, I love writing music. Whether a casual song inspired by the sounds of the city or a symphony teeming with obscure revolutionary references, odd meters and musical acronyms, making music is my life. And my life is lived through music.

See, growing up in rural Mexico I had very few distractions at my parents’ farm. So, I became one dedicated violinist, composer and... eco-socialist - after many years of trying to make sense of my mom's anthropology books.

Eventually, I was invited to Mexico City, where I auditioned for a scholarship sponsored by the US Department of State. They were nice and most of them spoke both English and Spanish. After playing for about 15 minutes, they were kind enough to give me a Fulbright grant worth mucho dinero, and sent me packing.

By the time I was eighteen I had arrived in New York City and two years later I was finishing my Master’s at the Manhattan School of Music.

As a professional musician I get to travel a lot: Peru, Cuba, Brazil, Poland, France, Germany, Austria, England, Egypt, China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Israel, Canada, Jamaica and Jordan.

But these days, the most exciting thing I do is making music with my two younger brothers, Alberto and Luis. The name of our band is The Villalobos Brothers. Please check it out! http://villalobosbrothers.com

Some years ago, we got reunited in New York and had our debut at Carnegie Hall. Ever since we’ve been jamming at some really cool places, like the Latin Grammys, The United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Shea Stadium, and the 2014 ASCAP Awards. In 2013 we won the Grand Prize at National Public Radio's Battle of the Boroughs. Send us a tweet @villalobosbros

Peace out!

-Ernesto "Ness" Villalobos