Los Hermanos Bros performed at Thorne Hall on Feb. 2, 2024, for the Noche de Baile crowd — a biennial Latine Student Union (LSU) hosted event. Alberto Torres (first year) and Luis Torres ’19 co-founded the band and jam alongside Alexander Lunar, the bass player and drummer Genaro Reyes. According to Alberto Torres, their band name translates to “The Brothers Bros,” inspired by the Torres siblings playing Super Marios Bros as children and demonstrating the tight-knit brotherhood at the center of their musical group.
Alberto Torres said the Norteño genre has long been important to his identity since his Mexican immigrant parents raised him and his brother with this style of music.
“Growing up with Spanish as my primary language and listening to that music every day in my household, whether it was while cleaning the house or mowing the lawn, was a way to connect with our culture, family, friends and ourselves,” Alberto Torres said.
Alberto Torres said Los Hermanos Bros typically cover songs at birthdays, quinceñeras, weddings and divorce parties to keep the essence of musica Norteña alive. According to Alberto Torres, his role in the band is to vocalize and play the bajo quinto — a Mexican string guitar — together with his brother, who taught him the fundamentals at only age 10. Alberto Torres said he did not fully appreciate music initially, but rather his already-established musician brother sparked his passion for the industry after asking him to fill in as guitarist for a gig. According to Alberto Torres, he began practicing and working independently for two years thereafter. He said he played the violin, vihuela and bass in addition to the bajo quinto until the commencement of Los Hermanos Bros in 2021.
Alberto Torres said that despite dropping their first album, “Rosas,” in Aug. of 2023, Los Hermanos Bros is currently focused on booking more events rather than officially releasing more music. However, by gaining traction on their Instagram and TikTok, they still hope to broaden their audience outreach, according to Alberto Torres.
“We don’t do it to get famous or for any other reason than just getting our stuff out there,” Alberto Torres said.
Alberto Torres said that before he enrolled at Occidental, Los Hermanos Bros performed at Noche de Baile two years prior, starting a new tradition for the band. Luis Torres said returning to campus in 2024 after graduating in 2019 was an out-of-body experience for him.
“I was seeing my 18-year-old brother experience the exact same feeling I had — nervousness, excitement and support as he got ready to play bajo quinto for Occidental College as a current student,” Luis Torres said. “The interest in Norteño music was much higher compared to when I was enrolled, which shows the ongoing support from the institution and the growing support from the student body.”
Co-president of LSU Jimmy Mendoza Hernandez (junior) said events like these are critical to forming a support network and promoting the Latine identifying community on campus. According to Mendoza Hernandez, LSU was founded in 2017 after members from three separate clubs — La Raza Coalition, Las Hermanx Aliadas and Los Compadres — came together. Mendoza Hernandez said LSU members meet biweekly and organize fun occasions such as family dinners and other music events, including the annual Latinx & Latin American Studies (LLAS) Fall Fiesta and Reggaeton night.
“[Alberto Torres’] performance was important to everyone because it allowed our first year to showcase his talent and share his love for music with not only his friends, but the Oxy community,” Mendoza Hernandez said. “We saw this as an opportunity for our newer members to interact with older members through a way we all love — dance.”
Both Alberto Torres and Mendoza Hernandez said planning the event was much more challenging and stressful than anticipated. Mendoza Hernandez said that in collaboration with the Intercultural Community Center (ICC) director, Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright, the funding was settled weeks in advance over winter break to ensure sponsors for the event. Gonzales-Wright said that after seeing Los Hermanos Bros live, and given Alberto Torres’ participation last summer in the Multicultural Summer Institute (MSI), she was moved to continue creating opportunities for intercultural students to express their musical talents.
“Music has the power to serve as a form of resistance and as a way to bring folks together,” Gonzales-Wright said. “I want the opportunity for students to not just explore the music scene in Los Angeles, but for the local LA community to take up space at Oxy.”
Mendoza Hernandez said that many more Noches de Baile are to come as an endeavor to keep uniting all ends of the Occidental community through music, praising Los Hermanos Bros.
“I love the fact that it wasn’t just for people that are Latine or Hispanic. It was an event for everybody, and seeing that different cultures and different people were having a great time with our music felt really satisfying,” Alberto Torres said. “I wanted to bring the heat to Oxy and allow people to see our music because I believe they haven’t seen music like ours quite yet.”
Contact Nisha Siedler at siedler@oxy.edu
