Accordion Para Todos: How We Celebrate Texas Folk Music
Location: Museum of South Texas History (200 N Closner Blvd, Edinburg, TX 78541)
Big Squeeze Conjunto Semi-Finals
Edinburg Music Fest 2023
The Museum of South Texas History welcomes musician Veronique Medrano and Executive Director of Texas Folklife Charlie Lockwood to the Sunday Speaker Series presentation titled “Accordion Para Todos: How We Celebrate Texas Folk Music.”
The power of preserving South Texas culture is through playing conjunto and Tejano music, which can be passed down through generations. “Papito and The Squeezbox” is a children’s book that celebrates the curiosity of children picking up sounds and culture at an early age. Medrano, publisher of the children’s book, and Lockwood will discuss the importance of cultural representation through the active creation of music during the presentation. The children’s book will be sold at the Museum Store.
Blending traditional Tejano (TexMex) beats and musical textures, Medrano, a Mexican American, seamlessly presents country, rockabilly and americana with Tejano, Latin pop, salsa, reggaeton, merengue, cumbia and Spanish folk/ranchero. Medrano has self-produced three albums and two Eps since 2017, yielding glowing reviews from Grammy.com, Nashville Scene and Texas Monthly. She earned a master’s degree in information sciences for archiving and preservation from the University of North Texas. Currently she hosts the “Accordion 2 Me” podcast.
Lockwood, a native Texan, has a decade of experience as a nonprofit arts administrator and public folklorist. He earned a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from UC Santa Barbara, where he played the oud with the UCSB Middle East Ensemble and did research with the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans. Currently he serves as the executive director of Texas Folklife, the National Endowment for the Arts state-designated folklife program of Texas. Over the last several years Lockwood has spearheaded programs focusing on the intersections of folk and traditional arts and health.
This program is made possible by the generous support from the Carmen C. Guerra Endowment. Mrs. Guerra was committed to educational causes in the Rio Grande Valley. This named endowment was created by her family to honor her memory and to continue providing educational opportunities for the community.
