The López-Yáñez know how to have fun at their concerts together

May 14, 2026

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Jorge López-Yáñez remembers the exact moment when his son, Enrico López-Yáñez, showed interest in classical music.

The family was in Pittsburgh because Jorge was the predominant tenor of the work the Pittsburgh Opera was presenting, and the late conductor Tito Capobianco was in charge of the orchestra. At one point, when everyone was seated, little Enrico, who was about 4 or 5 years old, was standing on his chair making movements as if he were directing the musicians.

“I said, ‘Oh, wow, he’s really interested in classical music,’” Jorge recalled. “That was where I said, ‘maybe this guy is going to follow in the footsteps [de director de orquesta]’”.

Jorge was not wrong. Enrico, 37, is now the new director of the Pacific Symphony and principal conductor of Pops, an orchestra that performs standard and contemporary music. They will be together in a concert in which Jorge will be part of the group of singers who will perform and Enrico will be in charge of the orchestra that will accompany the evening.

This is an expose that has the name An Enchanted Evening with the Three Mexican Tenors —An enchanting evening with the Three Mexican Tenors—, which will take place Friday and Saturday at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

In addition to Jorge, Mexican tenors will participate Bernardo Bermúdez and Alfredo Carrillowho will perform a repertoire that includes pop songs, classic opera songs, rancheras and Broadway musicals. In one of the segments, Jaime Cuéllar’s Mariachi Garibaldi will join the expose.

This is the first time father and son have worked together. At the recent San Marcos Fair, a multi-day festival held each year in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where Jorge lives, Jorge himself organized a mega-concert in which fellow tenor José Carreras sang and saxophonist Kenny G played. Enrico, of course, was the conductor of the orchestra.

“It was something historic because I performed with a tenor as high as José Carreras,” said Jorge. “Our last name has already been written in history.” […] For me it is a dream come true to be sharing those moments with my eldest son.”

The concert at the Segerstrom is part of the Pacific Symphony’s 2025-26 Pops series. It has already performed in Nashville, Indianapolis and will soon go to Baltimore.

Enrico López-Yáñez, director of the Pacific Symphony Pops./Courtesy

For Enrico, the presentations alongside his father not only make him proud, but also amuse him because of how Jorge is, a witty, fun, jovial and sometimes loquacious man.

“We had a good time because it’s happy music,” Enrico said. “My dad is very charismatic […] He loves to move and make people sing and dance, and from time to time he also does some dances that I say, ‘damn, where did that come from?’; But I love it, we have a great time.”