The group originated in the mid-1950s as the family project of three brothers, Ruben, Henry, and Angel Estrada. Growing up in Oxnard, California, a largely agricultural town located about midway between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the Estradas absorbed a wide variety of popular West Coast sounds. But it was the melding of Latin rhythms, jazz harmonies, and improvisation taking place in the music of Stan Kenton, Tito Puente, and especially Cal Tjader that inspired the brothers to put together their own band.