WELCOME TO OUR NEW SITE!
We have many exciting programs and events planned for our 25th anniversary - stay tuned!
The Big Squeeze goes on the road for 2010!
Texas Folklife takes the 4th annual Big Squeeze accordion contest on the road by providing live auditions all around the state. If you are an accordion player of the age of 21 or younger, you could be the next winner!More details on 2010 Big Squeeze
Auditions this week in the Rio Grande Valley!
Monday, Feb. 8, 7-9pm:
Mercado Delta, 510 N. Yellow Jacket Dr., Edcouch
Tuesday, Feb. 9, 6-8pm:
La Joya Performing Arts Center, Mariachi Room, 604 N. Coyote Blvd., La Joya
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 7-9pm:
Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center, 225 E. Stenger Rd., San Benito
Download Rules & Entry Form
Electronic Press Kit
DVDs of The Big Squeeze are now available for purchase!
For home use: $20 per copy plus $5 shipping and handling.
Please call (512) 441-9255 or email us at info@texasfolklife.org to place your order today.
Visit our Facebook page for a preview clip of the film.
Also, visit Texas Folklife's new online store for other great gifts.
Also, visit Texas Folklife's new online store for other great gifts.
Barbara Lynn, a National Treasure
In November, Texas Folklife accompanied Barbara Lynn and her band to Washington, D.C. for her performances at the Kennedy Center and the Library of Congress. The show at the Library of Congress was part of the American Folklife Center's Homegrown Concert Series.
Photo by Megan Halsband, American Folklife Center
The Big Squeeze film on PBS around the country
Get your copy of The Big Squeeze DVD today!
The Big Squeeze film by acclaimed director Hector Galan is a joyful leap into the heart of Texas music, documenting the extraordinary young accordion players taking part in our annual contest. From the urban barrios of Houston to the colonias along the U.S.-Mexican border, young musicians carry on a passionate musical legacy. The 26-minute film tracks the contestants and their families as they prepare for the contest and concludes with the finals held at Texas Folklife’s Accordion Kings & Queens festival in Houston. Also caught on film are the festival’s featured performers including Zydeco greats Chubby Carrier and Step Rideau, Tejano star Mingo Saldivar, and Country Western singer/songwriter Ginny Mac. RESERVE your own DVD with 90 minutes bonus footage including full performances by musicians and contestants featured in the film. Just send an e-mail to info@texasfolklife.org with your full name and phone number to reserve of copy of the film, available in Winter 2009. Get a perfect gift for only $20 per copy (includes tax, home use only) plus $5 shipping/handling.
Yard Show exhibit in San Angelo
Rufino Loya of El Paso, TX; photo by Chuy Benitez
Yard Show is a collaboration of Texas Folklife and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts (SAMFA) working with landscape designer and author Jill Nokes, whose recent book, Yard Art and Handmade Places: Extraordinary Expressions of Home (2007, UT Press), is the basis for the exhibit. The book profiles twenty individuals who have transformed their yards and gardens into oases of art and exuberant personal expression. Nokes presents their stories, told in their own words, about why they created these handmade places and what their yard art has come to mean to them and to their communities. Yard Show focuses on several of these distinctive places and their makers with photographs, video and audio projections as well as sculptural elements borrowed from selected yards. The exhibit was on view at SAMFA in Fall 2009 and will be in Austin at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center from September 4- December 10, 2010.
More information on this exhibit.
Ranch Gates of the Southwest: Manifestations of Individualism
Part One on view at Austin’s City Hall through February 1, 2010
Part Two on view in the Texas Folklife Gallery
More about the exhibit
Also read Douglas Manger's essay, "Changing Places."
Recent News and Articles
Archie Green (1917-2009): Called to Labor March 2009
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
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
See photos from the party taken by Texas Folklife supporter, David Dodd.
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!