Flaco Jimenez (center) with Sylvia Carrizales (right) and her mom (left) in 2006. Credit: Tejano Beat / Tejano Nation
This article contains excerpts from a 2006 Tejano Beat blog and interview
Several weeks ago, I found myself pausing to appreciate one of those rare, serendipitous moments that remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place. It was a warm San Antonio evening, and I was seated at a small table outside Aldaco’s restaurant enjoying a plate of bean and cheese nachos, flautas, and quesadillas. The soda in my hand was sweating from the Texas heat. Across from me, with a cold beer in his hand and a legendary smile on his face, was none other than Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez.
We were just a few yards away from Sunset Station, where the crew was preparing for a Bo Bice concert. But the real event for me — and for anyone who loves Tejano culture — was quietly unfolding behind the ticket office: the unveiling of a mural by local artist Gary V. Lett honoring Texas music legends. Among the iconic faces — Willie Nelson, Beyoncé, Buddy Holly — stood the only father-son duo: Don Santiago Jimenez, Sr., and his son, Flaco.
It was more than a mural. It was history painted in color. And I had the honor of experiencing it alongside the very man who helped shape it.
A Lifetime of Stories Behind the Accordion
Flaco, who passed away on July 31, 2025, at the age of 86, was more than a Grammy-winning artist. He was a humble storyteller, a musical trailblazer, and a global ambassador of the accordion — and he carried the weight of three generations of conjunto legacy on his shoulders with joy, humor, and humility.
Sylvia Carrizales and Flaco Jimenez in 2006. | Credit: Tejano Beat / Tejano Nation
That night over nachos and laughter, Flaco shared tales of his musical journey — stories that now feel even more priceless. He told me about walking into a Los Angeles studio to record with the Rolling Stones, still in disbelief that he was even there. “The first thing Mick (Jagger) did was hand me a cold one,” he laughed. After a few warm-up takes, the Stones secretly hit “record.” Flaco’s “practice” session became the final take on Voodoo Lounge’s “Sweethearts Together,” his unmistakable accordion solo now immortalized in rock history.
Moments like that — and countless others with Santana, Ry Cooder, Dwight Yoakam, Los Lobos, and the Texas Tornadoes — defined Flaco’s musical life. But the man behind the buttons remained as down-to-earth as any neighbor you might bump into at the corner taqueria.
Rooted in Conjunto, Reaching the World
Born into a dynasty of accordionists, Flaco was never content to stay boxed into a genre. His father, Don Santiago Jimenez, Sr., helped shape conjunto music, combining traditional Mexican sounds with German, Czech, and Polish polkas. Flaco inherited that fusion-minded spirit and took it further.
“Conjunto is the roots,” he told me. “But still, to be versatile in music, I think it’s a good thing so everybody will have their choice of what they want to hear.”
He didn’t just play music; he explored it, challenged it, and wove it together like a tapestry. His recording of the German polka “En El Cielo No Hay Cerveza” in Spanish, English, and Dutch was not just a song — it was a musical cultural exchange.
Some criticized his musical adventures. “Where are the frijoles at now?” they would joke. Flaco would just smile and say, “Heck no, I grew up eating beans, man, but I can eat whatever I want.”
A Legacy of Humility and Heart
Even with five Grammy wins, international fame, and a discography that reads like a musical passport, Flaco never saw himself as a “legend.” That’s something he often told me and others. “Let people say that,” he’d shrug. “I just did my best to make people happy with my music.”
That humility is what made him so beloved. When I was more than thirty minutes late to our interview — delayed by San Antonio traffic and a work emergency — Flaco didn’t complain. Instead, we filled an hour with stories and jokes. He even repeated a line from his good friend Freddy Fender: “Okay, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you think about me?”
We all burst out laughing. And I remember sitting there, thinking: “I can’t believe I’m here.”
Preserving Our Tejano History
In those fleeting hours, I realized something: that Tejano legends like Flaco Jimenez, Freddy Fender, Sunny Ozuna, Steve Jordan, and Jimmy Edward — they’re not just part of our past. They are our culture, our history, and our identity as Tejanos. And when they leave us, they take with them stories, lessons, and a sound that only they could share.
Sylvia Carrizales and Flaco Jimenez at 40th Tejano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio, Texas, in 2022. | Credit: Tejano Beat / Tejano Nation
That’s why Tejano Beat — now proudly carried forward by Tejano Nation — exists. To keep telling these stories. To honor the voices that built Tejano music into a genre that spans borders and languages, even if it started in backyard barbecues and neighborhood cantinas.
Flaco Jimenez lived his music. He played from the heart and with the soul of a man who was proud of where he came from — and curious about where his music could take him next.
He didn’t see boundaries. He saw possibilities.
Thank you, Flaco, for the songs, the laughter, the cold beers, and the conversations under the San Antonio sun. Thank you for showing us that music has no limits, and neither do we.
Rest in peace, Flaco. We’ll carry your sound in our hearts forever.
Flaco Jimenez and Sylvia Carrizales | Credit: Tejano Beat / Tejano Nation
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