Flaco Jimenez, legendary Texas accordionist, dies at 86

By Juan A. Lozano | Associated Press

HOUSTON — Flaco Jimenez, the legendary accordionist from San Antonio who won multiple Grammys and helped expand the popularity of conjunto, Tejano and Tex-Mex music, died Thursday. He was 86.

Jimenez’s death was announced Thursday evening by his family on social media. He was surrounded by family members when he died in the San Antonio home of his son Arturo Jimenez.

“Dad was in peace when he left. He started saying his goodbyes several days before. He said he was proud of himself for what he had done and he just leaves memories for the public to enjoy. He said he was ready to go,” Arturo Jimenez told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Friday.

Arturo Jimenez said a cause of death has not yet been determined. His father had been hospitalized in January after getting a blood clot in his leg. Doctors then discovered he had some vascular issues.

Born Leonardo Jimenez in 1939, he was known to his fans by his nickname of Flaco, which means skinny in Spanish.

He was the son of conjunto pioneer Santiago Jimenez. Conjunto is a musical genre that originated in South Texas and blends different genres and cultural influences.

According to the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin, the development of conjunto “began more than a century ago when Texans of Mexican heritage (Tejanos) took an interest in the accordion music of German, Polish, and Czech immigrants. The ensuing Tejano accordion music, accompanied by the bajo sexto (replacing the European tuba) soon came to represent the Tejano way of life, which was closely associated with working in the agricultural fields. The music remains unchanged and serves as a symbol that binds many Tejano communities in South and Central Texas.”

Jimenez refined his conjunto musical skills by playing in San Antonio saloons and dance halls. He began performing in the 1960s with fellow San Antonio native Douglas Sahm, the founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet. Jimenez would later play with Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Ry Cooder and the Rolling Stones.

Throughout his career, Jimenez added other influences into conjunto music, including from country, rock and jazz.

“He always wanted to try to incorporate accordion into all sorts of different genres and how to make the accordion blend in. That was always a fascination of his and he was able to,” Arturo Jimenez said.

In the 1990s, Jimenez was part of the Tejano supergroup the Texas Tornados, which included Sahm, Augie Meyers and Freddy Fender. The group won a Grammy in 1991 for the song, “Soy de San Luis.”
Jimenez also won another Grammy in 1999 as part of another supergroup, Los Super Seven.

Jimenez earned five Grammys and was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

He was also inducted into the National Hispanic Hall of Fame and NYC International Latin Music Hall of Fame and was named a Texas State Musician in 2014.

Arturo Jimenez said his father was a humble man who never wanted to be a showman and was focused on playing music for his fans.

“I’ve seen where fans come up to him and they literally cry and they thank my dad for all the good music and how dad’s music has been there for them in multiple situations, either happiness or sadness,” Arturo Jimenez said.

When Jimenez was named a 2022 National Medal of Arts recipient, the White House said he was being honored for “harnessing heritage to enrich American music” and that by “blending Norteño, Tex Mex, and Tejano music with the Blues, Rock n’ Roll, and Pop Music, he sings the soul of America’s Southwest.”

“We appreciate the gift of your musical talent, which brought joy to countless fans. Your passing leaves a void in our hearts,” the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum said in a post on social media.

Kyle Young, the CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, said Jimenez “was a paragon of Tejano conjunto music” who “drew millions of listeners into a rich musical world they might not have discovered on their own.”

Jimenez lived all his life in San Antonio, a city that was “very close to his heart,” his son said.

“They call him ‘el hijo de San Antonio’ and my dad always was proud of that,” Arturo Jimenez said, quoting a Spanish phrase that means the son of San Antonio.

His family plans to have a private funeral service followed by a celebration of his life with the public.

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70