Latin GRAMMY-nominated pop duo Mau y Ricky — aka Mauricio Alberto "Mau" Reglero Rodriguez and Ricardo Andrés "Ricky" Reglero Rodriguez — have shared a special connection since the beginnings of their career and beyond. Along with being musical partners, they're brothers, and the pair communicate on stage through a unique musical language that they've been developing since childhood.
Not only that, but their love for music is a gift they both inherited from their father, Ricardo Montaner, a pop legend who is one of Latin music's best-selling artists.
In this episode of It Goes to 11, Mau y Ricky introduce fans to their two favorite instruments, both of which have a connection to their dad. For Mau, that instrument dates back to his childhood — it's his very first drum set, which was a gift from his father.
"It's a blue Pearl Birch Shell that my father gave me. He used this drum set on his '90s tour," Mau explains. "It is full of bumps and battle scars. I had to change the drum's hardware several times, but all because I love how it sounds and I love the feeling that I get when I play these drums."
Meanwhile, Ricky's prize instrument is a guitar that — while not a literal gift from his dad — has reminded him of Montaner ever since he first saw it.
"It was made the year my father was born. And I found it on a trip to New York in a store, and it caught my eye," he explains. "I came to the store hoping to find a new interesting acoustic guitar that had history. And when they told me the year and I played it, I knew right there that it was the one that had to come home with me."
Now, he's hesitant to do anything that will affect the guitar's special sound. "I'm even afraid to change the strings. The strings smell really bad," Ricky adds. "But it has a different feeling because it's so old. I mean, the strings aren't 60 years old. But I'm afraid that if I change them, it'll split in half."
Press play on the video above to learn more about Mau y Ricky's favorite instruments, plus more about the irreplaceable sibling bond they share on stage, and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of It Goes to 11.