OXNARD : Councilman and Family to Perform

Ventura County residents will have a rare chance today and Saturday to hear Oxnard City Councilman Andres Herrera and his family perform a festive selection of Mexican music.

The family group--known as Conjunto Hueyapan, or the Coastal Ensemble--will play music from the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Gulf Coast. The first concert will be held in Oxnard today. A second show will be held Saturday in Thousand Oaks.

The Herreras have performed their repertoire across the country and in Europe, said Fermin Herrera, 46, the family harp player. The ensemble, which includes eight family members, will pause to discuss the music and its instruments during breaks between the pieces.

“It’s more of a demonstration than a lecture,” Fermin Herrera said. “We don’t want to bore people to death.”

None of the Herreras showed a special affinity for music while growing up in Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood in the 1950s and ‘60s, Fermin Herrera said.

It was only later, while studying for a degree in ethnic music, that Fermin Herrera decided to learn how to play the music himself.

“I needed to enhance my credibility, so I learned how to play an instrument,” he said.

His growing enthusiasm caught fire with his three brothers, Andres, Jorge and Tomas, and sister Isabel. The siblings soon took up musical study and began performing with their brother about 20 years ago.

Today, Fermin Herrera teaches the study of ethnic music as a visiting professor at UCLA. He also works as a professor at Cal State Northridge’s Chicano studies department.

The Herreras will give their first performance today at Oxnard Civic Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and $10, $5 for students. For more information, call 385-8165. The second, shorter performance will be at Cal Lutheran University Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the general public, or free with Cal Lutheran ID. For more information, call 493-3302.