Los Caramelos once played Boleros at the Mariachi Plaza. The band is now the opening act for Los Panchos

The gentle strumming of guitar strings sounds as Matthew Jacquez, 29, and Dominick Maldonado, 27, introduce themselves during a telephone interview.

The sound is reminiscent of classical or traditional guitars, but has a distinct rhythm. “This is more like the pick-and-finger style, the requinto,” says Jacquez, describing his instrument — a higher-pitched guitar.

The duo is a founding member of Los Caramelos, a band that pays homage to trios playing bolero music. The couple met a year ago this month at Eclectic Studio, a music studio and art space in Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.

Maldonado, a dentist from East LA, and Jacquez, a firefighter from Commerce, stayed in touch through social media. Maldonado noted that Jacquez posted videos on Instagram of himself singing boleros, a music genre with Cuban origins known for its passionate declarations of love and heartbreak.

They began playing a few boleros they knew “for fun” at Mariachi Plaza and Olvera Street, and made their first official public appearance last December at the same Boyle Heights studio where the two met.

Since then, the band, which previously only plays cover songs, has added fellow musicians Miguel Balàn on maracas and Larry Millard Harvey II on percussion and bongos.

Now Los Caramelos opens for Los Panchos, the iconic trio that popularized the bolero style in the 1960s. The 8th annual “Boleros De Noche” at The Ford this Saturday and Sunday will spotlight the decorated and new generation of Bolero musicians.

Ahead of their show, we spoke to the founding members of Los Caramelos about their musical influences and why it’s important to keep Boleros alive.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

BHB: What are your earliest memories of listening to trios and boleros? Was it at home or someone specific who shared it with you? And did you understand it?

Jacquez: I have some roots in it. When I was young, I remember my dad driving around and carrying CDs. He gave us the lyrics, then stopped the song and asked us, “Okay, what do you think they meant by that?”

That’s what really stood out to me – the moments when he explained the lyrics and analyzed the poetry. The way he made it clear to us that it was very romantic music. It gave me the opportunity to really listen carefully and embark on the journey on my own, and then I just fell into it on my own.

Maldonado: To be honest, I didn’t really grow up with trio music. I mean, everyone in their Mexican household listens to Los Panchos – they are the classics and you could say the godfathers of the genre. I remember really liking it, but that was the only trio music I was exposed to as a young man, and as a boy… I lived in Mexico for about six years and that exposed me more to Latin music… I had to live I was in Europe for a while and during that time I got really nostalgic. At this point I actually missed Mexico more than the US and started listening to a lot of music in Spanish, romantic music, boleros, not even trio music.

BHB: Classic boleros are about romantic love and heartbreak. Do you think that’s why this music survives?

Maldonado: Oh yeah, because some of these songs were written in the 1940s – some even earlier… and all that stuff you can relate to today. Right before we play a song, we just say what the song is about, and sometimes people laugh and sometimes they say, “Woah, are you playing a really sad song now?”

BHB: Recently a new wave of artists have reinterpreted the Bolero and refreshed the sound. How would you describe this evolution of contemporary vs. traditional and do you consider yourself part of this wave?

Jacquez: Well, my personal opinion on the contemporary stuff: I just think it’s great. It’s a complement to doing what the groups we admire did with the genre in its original form and put a twist on it. History tells us that it was not always universally accepted. Many people criticized the music simply because of the dissonance of many jazz chords. The artists I’m dealing with today add elements from the Bolero genre that clearly stand out and do the genre justice. I don’t yet know exactly what we’re doing and where I think we’ll be. I think we’re still pretty early in our musical journey through these Boleros and are just learning the standards and playing them.

BHB: In a world of ever-changing music trends, some young people may not be familiar with this sound or even the music. Why do you think it’s important to keep this sound alive?

Jacquez: Surprisingly, there are people younger than us who wear these very traditional boleros. For example, there is a group in Mexico City called Trio Los Pretendientes, and they do it better than us, in my opinion.

Maldonado: For me it’s just as simple as I like it and I want to play it. I’m pretty sure Matthew and I would have even believed them if they had told us that we would be playing for Los Panchos in a year. We just like listening to the songs and studying them, and it’s not really about, “Oh, we’re trying to keep them alive.” I would say it’s also the fact that we have our jobs, and in a way it is sometimes an escape into an artistic and romantic affair. It’s more of an organic love that we have for it and I think that’s what attracts people.

BHB: What artists have inspired you that we should listen to? Classic or contemporary or do you recommend Spotify lists?

Jacquez: We have a playlist that we like to add so people can get familiar with the stuff we like. I think I’d like to name a few groups, of course, Los 3 Aces, which means “The Three Aces” in English, Los Tres Caballeros, Trio Las Sombras, and the fourth group I’ll add, they’re a Cuarteto, and they you are called Los Cuatro Soles. They are very underrated but are super talented.

Los Caramelos will perform at the 8th annual “Boleros De Noche” at The Ford on October 12th and 13th at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available here.