Although they hail from Spain, Los Hermanos Cubero indicate precisely the origins of their effort.
The band consists of Enrique “Quique” Ruiz Cubero (guitar and vocals) and Roberto Cubero (mandolin and vocals). “We’re brothers, so we came together from birth,” they explain. “In fact, our name, ‘Los Hermanos Cubero,’ means ‘The Cubero Brothers.‘”
The pair call Castile, the central part of Spain, their home, and go on to say they’re from a little region called La Alcarria, where violin/fiddle music was once very popular before radio existed.
The brothers describe their sound as acoustic roots music from Spain. “We play traditional Spanish rhythms, but with a heavy flavor of bluegrass and acoustic music,” they maintain. Nevertheless, their music is also heavily influenced by early predominant American musicians. “Mostly from the country music and from the acoustic music worlds,” Enrique suggests, citing David Grisman, Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe, and Waylon Jennings among them.
“Also, since we’re brothers, we’ve learned a lot from the Stanley Brothers, Louvin Brothers, and the Blue Sky Boys,” Roberto adds. “Plus, we have strong influences from Spain, including La Ronda de Boltaña, Joaquín Díaz, and a lot of unknown local traditional musicians.”
The pair began performing in 2010 and have since been recognized for their contributions to new folklore creation, courtesy of the Agapito Marazuela European Prize. To date, they’ve released six albums, two EPs, a compilation box-set and even a feature film. Their credentials also include a win for the MIN Award of the Independent Phonographic Union for Best Roots Music Album in 2019 and 2022 for Quique Draws Sadness and Errantes Telúricos / Proyecto Toribio, respectively.
In terms of touring, they’ve gigged extensively all across Spain, and that’s still the primary place where they continue to perform. “We keep our day jobs, but we are as busy as we can be with our music career,” Enrique maintains. “We’ve played at almost every major festival in Spain. It’s so much fun to bring our acoustic duo to indy-rock and electronic stages. We’ve played some European and UK festivals as well.”
While doing so, they’ve been able to share stages with an assortment of top flight artists. “We have been so lucky to have played with Jim Lauderdale two years ago,” Roberto recalls. “And we’ve also played with a lot of the big names of the music business in Spain.”
Happily, as well, their music has been quite well received by audiences in their native country.
“It’s been so great, since our music is deeply rooted in the Spanish tradition,” the two insist.
Nevertheless, they add that they play mostly original music, both vocal material and instrumental tunes. “At the same time, we rescue a lot of ancient Spanish songs from rural areas, and from the times that existed before music was even recorded,” Enrique adds.
Asked to explain why bluegrass music enjoys such widespread popularity, the Cuberos offer a ready response.
“It’s because of the freshness of the sound,” they agree. “It always sounds fresh and new. Bluegrass music was born from innovation, and remains an innovative style of music. That gives a lot of room for freedom and for new things in every level of the music — harmonically, lyrically, rhythmically. It’s also because of the great songwriting. There are a lot of clever lyrics within bluegrass music!”
