Flaco Jiménez
San Antonio conjunto player who carried Tex-Mex button accordion music to audiences worldwide.
- Years
- 1939–2025
- Country
- United States
- Instrument
- Diatonic button accordion, voice
Flaco Jiménez was born into a conjunto family in San Antonio, Texas. His father was accordionist Santiago Jiménez Sr. He performed with his father from the age of seven and made recordings as a teenager. On the three-row diatonic button accordion, he carried the dance music of the Texas–Mexico border beyond its home communities.
Collaborations with Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan and others introduced conjunto to wider audiences. His 1992 album Partners entered the US National Recording Registry. He won five Grammy Awards, received a National Heritage Fellowship in 2012 and a National Medal of Arts in 2022. He died in 2025.
Selected works, recordings and publications
- Partners1992
A collaborative album selected for the US National Recording Registry in 2020.
Release / publisherAlbum · Warner Bros. · 1992
Publication source - Flaco & Max: Legends & Legacies2014
A conjunto album with bajo sexto player Max Baca, released by Smithsonian Folkways.
Release / publisherAlbum · Smithsonian Folkways · 2014
Publication source