When he was 5 or 6 years old, Ernie Barreto discovered that he couldn't whistle like everyone else when he puckered his lips. So he created his own style with relaxed lips, pronouncing the letter S and pulling back his tongue.
The effect is the same, and it's even championship-caliber. Barreto, 33, of Centre Ridge, won third place in both classical and popular categories at the International Whistlers Convention, April 19-20, in Louisburg, N.C.
"I think it's great — I was happy that he placed," said his wife Terri. "I think his unusual style of whistling adds to it."
Barreto, who received a doctorate in physics from the University of Maryland in 1996, is a physics professor at George Mason University. He says it wasn't until high school that people noticed that he whistled differently. "I'm a shy whistler," he explained. "I don't usually whistle when other people are around."
The first time he did was as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago in a dorm talent-showcase. "People responded well to it, and that was encouraging," he said. "So I tried doing it at a Chicago bar, but was ignored."
Afterward, Barreto focused mainly on many more years of college. One night, on the radio, he heard an interview with one of the winners of the International Whistling Contest. "He lived in the Washington, D.C., area," said Barreto. "But it was before the Internet, and it took me years to track him down. When I did, he encouraged me to go."
He went last year and finished fifth. "I had no idea what to expect and, since my name begins with B, I was first," said Barreto. "It was nerve-wracking." He was especially eager to meet other people who whistled like he did. That didn't happen, but he did meet a Hall of Fame whistler who told him he'd only met four or five such whistlers in his whole life.
Actually, said Barreto, his style has its advantages. "I also use my lips to switch between notes in a crisp fashion," he said, bursting into an impromptu demonstration. "It's nice for doing trills."
This year's contest, held at Louisburg College and sponsored by the Franklin County Arts Council, drew 35 participants and some 400 spectators. Contestants hailed from 30 U.S. states and, said Barreto, "One guy came all the way from India."
This time, he was more relaxed. "Whistlers are friendly, happy people, and I met a lot of them there, last year," he said. "So I had a lot of friends in the audience. I was first again, but felt more comfortable."
In each of two rounds, he whistled a classical piece and a popular tune. In the first round, he performed a movement from Mozart's "D Major Flute Quartet" and the song, "Tico Tico." In round two, he performed the first movement of Mozart's "G Major Flute Concerto" and the song, "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom Red."
Barreto said most dedicated whistlers are ages 50 and above — "There was even a 90-year-old whistler there" — so tunes from the 1940s and '50s are especially popular.
Contestants were judged on their quality of whistling, musical presentation and how they conducted themselves on stage. Barreto had no advance expectations and was both surprised and pleased to come in third — winning a trophy and a medal.
"Competition was stiff, but I had an idea of who'd come in first," he said. "It was a man from Manhattan who's a classically trained singer." Last year, Barreto said he was "something of a curiosity" there. But this year, "My coming in third legitimized my style of whistling."
He plans to compete again next year and will try for first place. Still, he said, "It's just fun to be there." Delighted that everyone was so warm and friendly, his wife says she may even enter, too, even though she just whistles the regular way.
Meanwhile, Barreto will keep those tuneful lips in shape by participating in a whistling workshop and show, in October, in Oklahoma. What's it called? What else — Puckerama.