Vocalist Luis Villanueva learned to sing Spanish and in English while listening to the greats including, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Elton John, and many others while being raised by his grandmother in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. She greatly influenced and encouraged him to develop his love of music, and it was unusual if it wasn’t playing somewhere in the house. Later, singing as a founder of Azteca Chiapas Symphony Orchestra, he further honed his vocal and performance skills.
Formally educated as an optometrist, Luis quickly concluded that music was his true calling and he was eager to return to performing. Relocating to Puerto Vallarta in recent years, he competed as a finalist in several local and national singing competitions. While attending Incanto’s Open Mic one night last year, he found a comfortable niche to perform his music, eventually co-hosting Open Mic with owner Tracy Parks, and later singing as an original cast member of Incanto’s popular Gospelicious Gospel Brunch with renowned composer/pianist David Troy Francis. Meeting current musical partner and director Fernando Uribe at a party was kismet, says Luis, and the beginning of a new musical collaboration resulting in two successful shows at Incanto thus far, including their popular musical tribute to the late Juan Gabriel, which was very well received, and their current piano bar show performing Latin and American pop and standards. A Friday night favorite.
“We’re so happy to be at Incanto experimenting with various styles of music and trying new things. We’re very excited to see where this adventure takes us” – Luis & Fernando
Luis is also currently working on a solo album and the first track, ‘Taking My Soul’, previewed recently on his Facebook fan page and is expected to be released on Spotify as a single soon.
Collaborator and music director Fernando Uribe’s music career started early. Raised in a musical family, he learned to play several instruments including piano and guitar at an early age. The ukulele, flute and more came later as he began writing and producing music. He studied classical piano at the Institute of Fine Arts under Maestro Isaac Juarez and was formally educated as a sociologist at UNAM in Mexico City. However, his time as a sociologist was short-lived, as he too found music to be his true passion. He and Luis share a special musical chemistry and the two of them together are bringing a variety of music styles to Incanto. See them on Fridays at 7:30pm in the piano bar.
Visit Incanto’s website for more information www.IncantoVallarta.com. Incanto offers casual dining and entertainment in their air-conditioned piano bar and state-of-the-art cabaret theater. They are located at Insurgentes 109 at the Rio Cuale. Summer hours are 4pm-11:30pm Tues. – Sun. Riverside breakfast service resumes in October. No cover in the piano bar. Phone: 322-223-9756. Closed on Mondays.
