By PETE BANDA
Special to the NEWS
While growing up surrounded by Conjunto music most of his life, Eligio Martinez knew that he wanted to be the one making the music one day. The 21-year-old San Benito native was eventually drawn to the accordion while still in high school, but it turns out his natural gifts were greater than he ever would have thought.
Martinez, who graduated from Los Fresnos United High in 2020, became the first local champion of the Texas Folklife Big Squeeze competition earlier this month. Since 2007, the Big Squeeze has been one of the premier accordion music contests in the entire state, and it’s been a major goal for Martinez dating back to his years in high school.
“I actually tried to qualify for the contest three times, and it just wasn’t meant to be the first few times,” said Martinez. “So being able to win it this year was such a big deal for me. It was the last year I was eligible as well, so to be able to get the job done on my last chance was just a storybook ending for me.”
Martinez competed against accordion players from different genres across the state with hundreds of initial contestants. After advancing to the Finals in Austin, Martinez was chosen by a panel of judges after playing his musical piece in front of dozens of fans. It was an experience that only increased Martinez’s interest in his music.
“I have plans right now to start a conjunto band as soon as I can find some like-minded musicians who love the music as much as me,” added Martinez. “Winning this contest has been such a huge goal for me for so long, but now I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my musical career.”
In addition to working a near fulltime job, Martinez is currently enrolled at UTRGV where he plans to graduate with a degree in music. The ultimate goal for the young trailblazer is to return to the Valley to teach music while putting an emphasis on conjunto music. According to Martinez, the love of the culture and history that Conjunto music is attached to is what intrigues him the most.
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