Brownsville accordionist brings home state title

For Brownsville resident Juan Longoria Jr., playing the accordion just got a whole lot better.

Longoria, 28, has been playing the accordion for 18 years, and received first place at the accordion contest, The Big Squeeze, which was held in conjunction with the 18th Annual Accordion Kings and Queens Concert in Houston on June 1 and 2.

Texas Folklife, a nonprofit cultural and educational organization based in Austin, hosted the competition. To win, Longoria said he competed against six other accordion players from across the state, showing off both his love for the instrument and his South Texas pride.

“I’ve grown up around music all my life,” Longoria said. “It’s nice knowing that I brought something back to Brownsville and to South Texas.”

For the performance, Longoria said he played two songs, “Evolucion Musical” and “Alejandra,” compositions his father Juan Longoria Sr. taught him when he was only 10 years old. Longoria said that during the performance, he first played in front of a panel of judges and was one of three accordion players to advance to the final round the next day.

There, Longoria said he once again played “Evolucion Musical” with the Tejano band, Avizo, in front of an audience of 4,000 people. He said that many people that were in attendance knew the accordion through various styles of music, ranging from the Tejano, Conjunto, and Norteño sounds of South Texas to the Zydeco and Polka styles that encompass the rest of the state.

“It was something different that you don’t see here in the Valley,” Longoria said. “It was fun just to hear all the different kinds of music.”

Longoria said he chose the song “Evolution Musical” because it contained traditional music from four eras of Tejano, Conjunto, and Norteño music, which have roots in the Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico. He said he used two different accordions to deliver his four-minute performance, one of which was 50 years old and had belonged to his godfather, Carlos Garza, who passed away years ago.

“I want the younger generation like myself to not forget their roots,” Longoria said. “We need to remember where this music comes from and we kind of have to keep it alive.”

Nancy Bless, executive director of Texas Folklife, said the competition gave accordion enthusiasts the opportunity to showcase not only their talent, but also the distinct cultural traditions that occur across Texas. Bless said that by winning the competition, Longoria not only won a $1,00 cash prize, but also a three-hour recording session at Sugar Hill Recording Studios, a professional studio in Houston. She said that while all the semifinalists were talented, Longoria’s performance stood out.

“It was almost like a symphony,” Bless said. “He would sort of begin with something that almost had a Spanish influence to it and then something that sounded really Mexican. It was really, really beautiful.”

Bless said that both the competition and concert fall into the organization’s mission of preserving, promoting, and presenting traditional arts and customs throughout Texas. She said before the concert was over, Longoria played the accordion with Chubby Carrier, a third generation Zydeco accordionist.

“He’s just a spectacular musician with a really important message about the importance of this traditional music and not only keeping it alive but also making it your own,” Bless said.

For Longoria, winning the accordion competition is simply the beginning. He said he often plays the instrument along with his band, Los Potrillos at private parties and festivals throughout the Valley. Longoria said he plans to spend some of his prize money on a Playstation 3 for his 6year-old son, Juan Longoria Jr. However, he stresses that the best part of winning is knowing he is carrying on a tradition that is essential to both his family and the entire South Texas region.

“The main part is not the cash money,” Longoria said. “It’s just a little bit of pride and a little bit of recognition, getting first place and bringing it back to the Valley and South Texas. Nobody can take that away from me.”