Juntos Nuevamente: Flaco and Santiago Jimnez Jr.

Make Conjunto History

Again.
The long awaited CD by third generation accordionist brothers Flaco and
Santiago Jimnez Jr. quietly debuted on January 30 at an Austin fundraiser.
The recording project had been in the works for over a year. Conjunto fans
wont be disappointed, as it proves that great things cannot be rushed. Titled
Juntos Nuevamente (Together Again), the ten tracks draw from their late and
legendary fathers vast repertoire of corridos, canciones, and rancheras. The
brothers bypassed don Santiago Sr.s many chotices, polcas, valces, and
redovas perhaps to highlight his unsung (as it were) skills as a songwriter.
Whatever the reason, don Santiagos often poetic lyrics are the centerpiece
of this collection. And, they are given the due respect and reverence by Flaco
and Santiago. Rather than punctuating verses with the complex runs and
adornos (adornments) that Santiago ably serves up in his live shows, he
keeps things simple but faithful to the family musical tradition of unmatched
conjunto feeling.
In 1961 the brothers recorded the first of what are now their two albums
together. It was entitled El Rey y el Prncipe de la Msica Nortea on the
defunct Lira label. It was my first conjunto album. I purchased a copy in 1980
and listened intently to its corridos, rancheras, and polcas, dazzled by the
riffs and runs between verses, in awe of the mastery of its polcas. I had no
idea that I would be hearing a follow-up album over five decades after the
first recording. Interestingly, one of the corridos, a tragedia titled Emilio

Cabrera, appears on both albums. But, whereas, they originally played it

waltz time, here it is played 4/4 time.
Flaco and Santiago consistently harmonize on each song, with Flaco taking
the higher register and Santiago taking the lower. There is a very convincing
sense of urgency in these gongs that the brothers convey in their harmonies
and that has endured despite the decades of having not played together.
Santiago also plays acorden and bajo sexto throughout the tracks, with
Rubn Jimnez on bass.
If there is an overarching theme among these songs, it is love. The opening
songs, Contigo (With You) celebrates reunited love in which the narrator tells
a woman after years of separation Yo te quiero mucho si estoy a tu lado. Si
estoy alejado, mi anhelo es mayor. (I love you so much if Im at your side
side. / If Im far from you, my yearning is greater). The ranchera Marianita is
a song of unrequited love in which a mans love is rejected by the songs
namesake because, having to choose between him and her mother, she has
chosen her mother. He tells her Lo que te falta es valor (What you lack is
courage), though she denies it and prays for patience. But, he gives up
saying, Ese en vano enamorar cuando la suerte no ayuda /Me quejo a mi
desventura! (Love is in vane when fate wont help / I bemoan my
misfortune!) Una Mujer de Este Barrio (A Woman from This Neighborhood)
speaks of the betrayal of a mujer mal agradecida (ungrateful woman) for
whom he abandoned his parents. She has left him for un amigo a quien
estimaba yo (a friend who I esteemed). He concludes saying la confianza

mata al hombre/ esta es la pura verdad (Trust kills men / This is the pure
truth). And, of course, theres the aforementioned corrido of Emilio Cabrera
that gives a play-by-play account of a tragic love triangle in which a sailor
winds up shooting Cabrera, who is a captain, and the woman they loved.
The CD cover features a photo of the Brothers Jimnezs historic 2012
performance when they played for the first time on stage in 32 years. They
are in profile and are photographed from the waist up, Hohner button
accordions in-hand.
Though the sound engineering is A-1, the production has a very human and
even spontaneous feel to it. Santiago frequently uses bass buttons on the
whole note rests. Its a subtle use but still contributes to songs authenticity. I
remember hearing this technique on their first album.
Given the amount of rhetoric that the city of San Antonio generates about
local culture making us unique, I think the citys Department of Cultural
Affairs should establish pensions for Flaco and Santiago. I say this not only
because of their technical skills but because of the experience that imbues
their playing and singing with having known what it was like to live here: To
love, long, be happy, be dejected by circumstances as they played out back
then. In other words, they have witnessed and expressed things that are the
real history of this city. More importantly, they have paid heavily to become
internationally renowned. They have given more than they have received.

Anyone wishing to purchase a copy of Juntos Nuevamente can show up to

Santiagos regular gig at Carnitas Uruapan on Sunday mornings from 10:00
AM 1:00 PM.
-Rob Botello
Roberto Rob Botello is an accordionist, guitarist, singer-songwriter, block
printer, zinester, and freelance Spanish/English translator, specializing in
colonial era documents. He is a native of San Antonio where he lives, plays
chess, and sometimes teaches social work.
chessdiaries@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/rob.botello.7