WELCOME TO OUR NEW SITE!
Please bear with us while we update information on current events and past programs.Accordion Kings & Queens News
Thousands of music lovers flock to Miller Outdoor Theatre for the20th annual Accordion Kings & Queens
Photo by David Dodd
Once again Houstonians and other visitors danced the night away at the 20th Annual Accordion Kings and Queens Concert at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. The crowd of over 5,000 music enthusiasts was revved up by a star-studded line-up of Texas accordion kings and queens: Tejano greats Sunny Sauceda and Santiago Jimenez, Jr.; Zydeco stars Cedryl Ballou and The Zydeco Trendsetters and Lady “D” and the Zydeco Tornadoes, and Czech polka specialists Mark Halata and Texavia. Texas journalist Joe Nick Patoski kept the beat going as the emcee of the concert.
The audience was also got a special treat with the music of the Big Squeeze Accordion Throwdown finalists. Four talented young accordionists competed for the grand title which was awarded to Heriberto Rodriguez of Edcouch. Heriberto won a full-day recording session at Sugarhill Recording Studios and a trip for two to Germany, courtesy of Hohner Inc.. As an accordion student at Edcouch/Elsa High School, Heriberto has developed his music skills under the tutelage of conjunto master Benny Layton. Other finalists were also wonderful and included Gloria Jean Cantu of San Benito, Anthony Ortiz Jr. of Austin and Jorge Vasquez of Houston. All players dazzled the public with their performances. Congratulations to Heriberto and all the finalists for their great performance; we know we’ll have great accordion music happening in Texas for a long time!
Thanks to all our sponsors – the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board, Hohner Inc., Houston Endowment, SugarHill Recording Studios, The Raven Grill, Flashbang, Sign Effects, Embassy Suites Hotel, Austin, the Still Water Foundation and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
More photos from this year's concert coming soon!
2009 Big Squeeze Finalist, Anthony Ortiz Jr. was honored at the State Capitol
Below is a video of him performing with his group, Mariachi Corbetas.
2009 Finalists chosen!
Congratulations to all of the 2009 Big Squeeze semi-finalists. Each contestant was extremely talented and the judges had a hard time chosing just 3 finalists.The 2009 Big Squeeze Finalists are:
Gloria Jean Cantu of San Benito, TX
Anthony Ortiz, Jr of Austin, TX
Heriberto Rodriguez of Edcouch, TX
and Jorge Vazquez* of Houston, TX
*Jorge was the only semi-finalist in the 19-25 age category, which meant he automatically advanced to the Finals.
The Big Squeeze finals will be in Houston, TX on June 6 at 6:30pm. These four talented young accordionists will kick off an evening of accordion music: Texas Folklife's 20th annual Accordion Kings & Queens concert.
The event is free to the public and is held at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park.
For more info visit: www.milleroutdoortheatre.com.
John Ramirez on Live from SugarHill Studios
2008 Big Squeeze winner John Ramirez from Houston appears on the latest edition of "Live from SugarHill Studios."
Ranch Gates of the Southwest: Manifestations of Individualism
Part One on view at Austin’s City Hall through February 1, 2010Part Two on view in the Texas Folklife Gallery through September 4, 2009
The ranch gate is one of the most recognizable cultural artifacts of Americana, representing the people and landscapes, history and folklore of the American West. As ranches are consolidated and ranching becomes industrialized, the number of ranches is dwindling and the handcrafted gate is becoming a thing of the past. Across the west, the ruins of derelict gates are the landscape equivalent of ghost towns, signs of once thriving places, now abandoned and left to the elements. Texas Folklife’s newest exhibit, “Ranch Gates of the Southwest,” with photographs by University of Texas design professor, Daniel Olsen and designer Henk Van Assen, is based on their book being published in 2009 by Trinity University Press.
The exhibit invites viewers to explore the resonant visual language and multiple meanings of these American icons. Like a cowboy’s ornate belt buckle, the gate signifies membership in a unique fraternity, and frames the entry into a ranch with a theatrical and ceremonial air. In a desolate, treeless landscape they are signs of human occupancy, a point of transition between the public domain of the road and the private, expansive grazing ground that supports the ranching way of life. Dwarfed by the immensity of the landscapes they inhabit, ranch gates are local monuments to the grand space of the American West.
Folklorist Douglas Manger visited with a rancher whose gate is featured in Olsen and Van Assen’s book, as well as with an iron worker who builds gates. Read Douglas Manger's essay, "Changing Places."
Recent News and Articles
The smallest giant I’ve ever known is dead. Archie Green, former shipwright, Congressional lobbyist and a pioneer of American labor history and folklore studies, died Sunday, March 22, at his home on Caselli Street in San Francisco. He was 91.
For Julie Ardery's full article visit: Daily Yonder
Photo by: Jerry Telfer, San Fransisco Chronicle, 1987
The Big Squeeze Film: World Premiere at SXSW! March 2009
March 20, 2009 - 3:00 PM The Big Squeeze is a joyful leap into the heart of Texas music. From the urban barrios of Houston, to the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley, we find a new crop of players carrying on a passionate musical legacy fueled by family, friends, and food. Visit the SXSW page for more details: The Big Squeeze world premiere
Listen to audio about our event on KUT.
http://www.kut.org/items/show/16119
http://www.kut.org/items/show/16120
The Big Squeeze Film: Members Only Pre-Party
March 18, 2009 - 3:00 PM See photos taken at the party and the premiere. Thank you to Botticelli's restuarant for their support and hospitality.
The Big Squeeze Accordion Contest
Download Entry Form & Rules
Download the Poster
Download Electronic Press Kit
Texas Folklife on "Aielli Unleashed"
KUT's Aielli Unleashed invited Texas Folklife and some of Austin's finest accordion players to talk about The Big Squeeze and play songs from a variety of musical genres. The hour long program featuring Debra Peters, Alejandro Diaz, Charles Thibodeaux, Herschel Moody, Anthony Ortiz and Mariachis Corbetas, can be heard on KUT's website.
Big Squeeze Party January 2009
Michael Barnes' Out & About article on Texas Folklife's recent fundraising party:
The Big Squeeze party at Lowell Lebermann's house
Also look for the latest copy of Aviva for Liz Hernandez's article on this party.
www.avivanewspaper.com
The Ortiz Family: Three Generations of Music
Chuy Benitez Exhibit held over through March 2009
Pasatiempos de la Frontera: Images from the El Paso/Juarez Borderlands by Chuy Benitez
For other recent events and press releases please visit our archives!