By LoffMusic Editorial Staff – August 2025
This August 4, one of the most emblematic accordions of popular music has passed away: Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez, pioneer of the conjunto genre and ambassador of Tex-Mex, died at the age of 86 after more than seven decades of career.
From his native San Antonio, Flaco turned a local tradition into an international phenomenon, crossing borders with his unmistakable style and passion for telling stories to the rhythm of polka, ranchera and waltz.
An inheritance that was touched with the soul
The son and grandson of accordionists, Flaco didn’t need lessons: he learned by ear, absorbing the sounds of his father Santiago Jiménez Sr, a reference of the traditional ensemble. “It wasn’t just playing, it was feeling the instrument,” he once told NPR. Thus, at only seven years old, he began an idyll with the accordion that would never be broken.
Nicknamed “Flaco” -just like his father-, he soon became a regular fixture in Texas dirt dance halls, where he mixed tradition with an explosive energy that distinguished him from other musicians of his time.
From neighborhood dances to Dylan and the Stones
Jimenez was a cultural bridge between South Texas and the rest of the world. In 1973, his participation in the album Doug Sahm and Band led him to rub shoulders with Bob Dylan and Dr. John, opening the door to collaborations with such disparate names as Linda Rondstadt, Dwight Yoakam, Ry Cooder and the Rolling Stones.
Together with Doug Sahm he founded the legendary band Texas Tornados, with whom he recorded seven albums and consolidated the Tex-Mex sound as a universal musical language.
A revolutionary with six Grammys and a timeless legacy
Over the course of his career, Flaco released more than 25 solo albums and won six Grammy Awards, including the first to be presented in the category of Best Tejano Music Performance. In 2015, he received the Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a lifetime dedicated to breaking down musical boundaries.
