The sweet sound: Laredoan Carlos Guerra named Accordionist of the Year by South Texas Conjunto Association

 

By Tom Moore

 

After playing accordion for only 10 years, and being exclusively an accordion player for the last three, Carlos Guerra was recently named Accordionist of the Year by the South Texas Conjunto Association.

Guerra, 29, was the accordionist for Laredo band Edgar Vasquez y Sus Muchachos at the time of his nomination earlier this summer. He was one of four nominees including Bonifacio “Boni” Mauricio of Corpus Christi (Los Maximos, Hometown Boys), Rodney Rodriguez of Edinburg (Los Fantasmas del Valle), and Eddie Rodriguez of Seattle (Los Volcanes).

A fifth grade teacher at Salvador García Middle School , Guerra played drums in different bands for about six years, until he was 23. He had begun playing accordion by then, picking up the instrument 10 years ago. He has played accordion exclusively since he was 26.

Guerra switched to accordion because he wanted to play a more challenging instrument. He started with lessons for the first three or four months with Erasmo Benavides, accordionist for Tejano band Jerry & the Bad Boys. Guerra also learned from watching and playing with other accordionists.

Guerra cited the late Tony de la Rosa as a major influence, as well as fellow Accordionist of the Year nominee Bonifacio Mauricio. “I look up to Boni Mauricio a lot,” said Guerra. “I started out listening to his music, then suddenly I'm up against him for an award. I thought, ‘he's going to destroy me!'” Other influences include Mingo Saldivar (“One of my idols”) and Los Dos Gilbertos (“I like them a lot”).

“Friends of mine who are musicians say that I'm a mix between Los Dos Gilbertos, Mingo, and de la Rosa ,” said Guerra. “They say I have a very distinct style. They can hear a song and they'll know it's me playing. I tried to put together a style unique from other accordionists. I grabbed a little of everybody and formed my own style.”

The Conjunto Association award took Guerra by surprise. The nominees are chosen and voted for by conjunto fans and members of the organization, a non-profit group that promotes conjunto music throughout the United States .

“At first I was a little in disbelief,” said Guerra. “I wasn't expecting to win it. I was expecting everybody to vote for Boni. I guess I was wrong. I guess I took a lot of votes.”

Guerra recently quit Edgar Vasquez y Sus Muchachos to form a new group, Conjunto Los Carnales, with a friend, Albert “Snoopy” Solis. The band have been together for almost two months. Members include Solis on vocals; Tony Saenz, Sr., bajo sexto and vocals; Ruben Ramos, drums; and Sammy Rubio, bass.

Los Carnales are still in the rehearsal stage. “When we're ready we want to come out strong,” said Guerra, who has a rehearsal room in his home, where the band meet twice a week for three hours each day.

Guerra himself practices on the accordion everyday. “Every time I'm sitting down I play something,” he said. “There's always something that I have in my head.”

Like most bands just starting out, Los Carnales play a mix of cover songs and originals. “We do some covers. Every band's got to play some to get people to notice. But we have a lot of original material, too. Sammy Rubio, our bass player, is a composer, and he writes a lot of stuff,” said Guerra.

“The guys are hyped up,” added Guerra. “They're ready to go out there. I'm looking forward to playing with this new band.”

Guerra's enthusiasm for the new group is overshadowed only by his love of the music itself, and the instrument that gives conjunto its signature sound.

“The accordion is the main thing,” said Guerra. “I've always loved the way the cord sounds. That's what makes cajun and zydeco sound so sweet, the accordion. It's the same in conjunto.”