A kaleidoscope of local bands and student musician groups will once again gets attendees dancing in west San Antonio when the festival returns this May.
SAN ANTONIO — For years, the annual Tejano Conjunto Festival would end with acclaimed accordionist Flaco Jimenez putting on a show. In 2026, a group of international musicians will be taking up their instruments in his honor.
The tribute to the late San Antonio musician, who died last summer at the age of 86, will close out the 44th edition of the festival on May 17 at Rosedale Park in west San Antonio.
“We will have musicians coming from the Netherlands, from Spain, from Japan and from Monterrey, Mexico,” said Cristina Balli, executive director of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, which organizes the festival each year.
The annual music showcase was started in 1981 by Juan Tejeda, who remains a consultant. It’s a celebration of the rhythmic musical style that originated in South Texas as a blend between accordion music and German polka, and later incorporated the bajo sexto guitar as a key element.
“This is an opportunity to educate—educate ourselves and others about this music,” Balli said at last week’s unveiling of the 2026 festival lineup and official poster. “It’s a showcase of the culture of South Texas, and beyond, that shows just how special the history and traditions and the contributions of our people are to this region and to this country.”
The festival runs Thursday, May 14, through Sunday, May 17. As with previous years, the festival will feature prominent local and regional bands on some days, and student musicians on others. While the festival proper runs from Friday through Sunday, it officially gets underway with a free-to-attend seniors dance on Thursday morning.
Admission for individual days (aside from the free seniors dance) starts at $15; tickets can be purchased here. A three-day pass is also available for $50.
See the full festival lineup below.
Thursday, May 14
10 a.m. to noon: Free seniors dance featuring Bene Medina y Conjunto Aguila and Epi Martinez & friends. (Royal Palace Ballroom, 3506 SW Military Drive). Order tickets here.
Friday, May 15
- 4:45 p.m.: Winning poster presentation
- 5 p.m.: Jessie Perez y Sus Compadres
- 6 p.m.: Los Tellez
- 7 p.m.: Santiago Garza y La Naturalez
- 8 p.m.: South Texas Homies
- 9 p.m.: Ruben De La Cruz y Su Conjunto
- 10 p.m.: Los Garcia Brothers
- 11-11:45 p.m.: Los Fantasmas Del Valle
(Rosedale Park, 303 Dartmouth St.)
Saturday, May 16
- Noon: Donna High School musicians
- 12:30 p.m.: Rafael Cantu Jr. High School musicians
- 1 p.m.: Texas Best Middle School champion musicians
- 1:30 p.m.: Texas Best High School champion musicians
- 2 p.m.: Elijah Ezequiel y Los Conjunto Addictos
- 3 p.m.: Fruity Villarreal y Los Mavericks
- 4 p.m.: J. Castillo y Los All Stars
- 5 p.m.: Ruben Garza y Su Conjunto
- 6 p.m.: Tremendos V reunion
- 7 p.m.: Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez
- 8 p.m.: Los Monarcos de Mario y Pete Diaz
- 9 p.m.: Da Krazy Pimpz
- 10 p.m.: Lazaro Perez
- 11-11:45 p.m.: Ricky Naranjo y Los Gamblers
(Rosedale Park, 303 Dartmouth St.)
Sunday, May 17
- Noon: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center student musicians
- 12:50 p.m.: Conjunto Heritage Taller student musicians
- 1:10 p.m.: Edison High School musicians
- 1:35 p.m.: Southside High School musicians
- 2 p.m.: Waila Mumsigo and Stevie Vavages
- 3 p.m.: DeVozion
- 4 p.m.: Los Estrellas De Oro
- 5 p.m.: Conjunto Cats
- 6 p.m.: Chente Barrera y Taconazo feat. Juan P. Moreno
- 7 p.m.: Joel Guzman and Sarah Foxx y Conjunto
- 8 p.m.: Los Texmaniacs
- 8:40-10 p.m.: Flaco Jimenez tribute
(Rosedale Park, 303 Dartmouth St.)
Coming full circle
The winner of the annual Tejano Conjunto Festival poster contest was also revealed to be Rudy Valdez of Mission.
A former art teacher and musician himself, Valdez paid tribute to renowned South Texas accordionist Domingo “Mingo” Saldivar in a pink-blue-and-purple design evoking a lively conjunto festival at dusk. The poster design will featured on T-shirts and other festival merchandise this year.
“It’s unbelievable,” Valdez said of winning the contest, which organizers say drew entries from all over the world. “I just couldn’t hold the tears. It’s something I could never have dreamed of. We had a long drive over here, but this was certainly worth it.”
Having been encouraged by his wife to enter the contest, Valdez called it an opportunity to combined his dual passions for art and music. He said while he didn’t know Saldivar personally, he felt as if he’d grown close to him through his music.
“There are so many good musicians out there that don’t get the recognition that they deserve,” Valdez said. “And this guy’s one of them.”
Shelly Lares helped judge the poster contest for the first time. Many of the other entries submitted across four contest categories will remain on display at the Guadalupe Latino Bookstore (1300 Guadalupe St.) for visitors to see “the interpretation of the conjunto music from different artists,” according to Balli.