Flores shares his talent that came with dedication

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Amadeo Flores, regarded as a pioneer in the diatonic accordion, plays music at the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame Museum in Alice next to a poster of himself as he was in the 1950s.

   Amadeo Flores is curator and conducts tours at the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame Museum in Alice, but he doesn't just rely on artifacts or memorabilia. He shares a life he's lived.
   The 68-year-old Alice native need only recall a turning point in his life, when at 14 he heard a neighbor pick on his father's bajo sexto, a bass guitar that produced the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. From that moment on, he embarked on a 54-year career for the man now regarded as a pioneer in the diatonic accordion.
   "I have no regrets music-wise. And for whatever small contributions I have made, I am grateful," said Flores, who devotes his time these days to running his accordion tuning business and teaching children how to play the accordion.
   Flores is among 38 who have been inducted into the Alice museum's Hall of Fame, which on Saturday becomes the official State of Texas Tejano Music Hall of Fame.
   Flores began his career in 1947 with a five-member band that played a few dance halls, but mostly living rooms throughout Alice, Palito Blanco and nearby ranching communities.
   "We had no microphones, not even a name," Flores recalled.
   He learned to play the bajo sexto from Eluterio "Teo" Garcia, a friend of his father's who showed him how to use a full hand to play scales and chords.
   From the start, Flores let Garcia know that he had a serious student. To get to Garcia's home in Alfred, Flores, who didn't have a driver's license, would borrow his brother's car and take the backroads. On weekends, he hitchhiked.
   In 1949, Flores joined a conjunto band led by Tony de la Rosa and for the next six years spent much of the time traveling throughout the state, earning in a week the $84 he had made monthly while working for an Alice construction company.
   The year de la Rosa got drafted into the Army in 1955 was the year a famous accordionist that Flores will not name dared him to learn how to play the accordion.
   Three months later, after days of eight- or 10-hour practice sessions, Flores played a dance hall in Raymondville, showing off his newly discovered talent.
   'Play for hours'
   Flores credits mentor Guadalupe "Lupe" Lopez of Falfurrias for encouraging him to master the instrument for which he is now known.
   "While my wife cooked breakfast for us, we'd go out to the back porch and play for hours," he said.
   Flores went on to form his own group, El Conjunto Ideal, that in 1960 got a six-week contract to play in Chicago. Flores stayed for 4¤ years.
   Flores later moved his family to San Jose, Calif., where he took a short-lived job with the nearby city of Morganville. While he painted fire hydrants, repaired streets and cleaned parks, his music was playing on the radio.
   Stop traveling
   "I took the job because I wanted to stop traveling," said Flores, who quit the job three months later, getting back into the music business as a salesman for a record distributing company. During his 26 years in the West Coast, Flores played the accordion at nightclubs on the weekends.
   In all, Flores recorded three LPs and numerous 45s. His songs "La Flecha" and "Skokie" have been re-recorded by several artists.
   "He's left a memorable legacy of music," said Manny Garcia Jr., vice president of the advisory council for the museum. "Amadeo makes playing the accordion sound so simple.
   Only certain people are born with that gift. And he's definitely got a gift from God."
   'It's still about music'
   Flores returned to Alice in 1991 with his wife, Angelita Naranjo Flores. He was named winner in 1995 of the Narciso Martinez Music Award by the Guadalupe Arts and Culture Center in San Antonio and among the children he teaches accordion to are his grandchildren.
   "Conjunto and the accordion will live on," Flores said.
   "Today's generation may be coming up with their own style of it, but look at the crowds they're drawing. It's still about music and it's beautiful."