FREE FOURTH ANNUAL FREDDIE GOMEZ CONCERT SATURDAY

By Juan Montoya
Four years ago, Timo Ruedas' the South Texas Conjunto Association teamed up with George Ramirez's Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts and established an annual memorial concert to remember Gomez and musicians who followed in his footsteps. The City of Brownsville is also a co-sponsor.
The first concert was a hit as were the rest of the following memorial concerts.
This year, the Fourth Annual Freddie Gomez Memorial Conjunto Concert will be held from 6 to 12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 in Brownsville's Historic Downtown District at the corner of Levee and 11th streets.
The event is free in celebration of Labor Day, the working man's holiday. Gomez died Sept. 3, 2005.
Freddie Gomez was a simple man, and singing with a conjunto was a side gig (he worked at J.C. Penney's in Brownsville and retired from there without ever missing a day of work.) One can only imagine what he could have achieved is he had devoted his full time to his musical pursuits.
The program includes the Memorial Ceremony, Conjunto “Ambassador” Award presentations, Youth-Musician ensembles, a Dance Marathon and three Conjunto performances.
This year, Conjunto music legend, Pepe Maldonado, will be the featured artist for the memorial conjunto venue. Pepe was born in Rio Grande City in 1941and his family relocated to Edinburg in 1945. While he plays a variety of instruments, including the accordion, bass and bajo-sexto, he especially enjoys Singing. Pepe first performed in front of a live audience during the 1950’s at a theater in Alamo that hosted weekly amateur events for local musicians.
He and accordionist, Juan Antonio Tapia, participated in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. in 1998. In 2002 he opened La Lomita, a Western aesthetic park, to host weekly dances and promote local area Conjunto groups.
Pepe Maldonado y Su Conjunto will perform at 8 p.m. and followed by the versatile accordionist/vocalist, Arturo Nino y Su Khromaticos and Brownsville’s popular group, “La Farra” de los Hermanos Lozano.

The Concert venue includes a 25-minute marathon dance competition with seven styles and rhythms of Conjunto dance music that starts with a slow Vals (waltz) then progresses to a Bolero, a Redova, a Shotiz, a Cumbia, a Polka and ends with the rapid beat of a Huapango.
Food and beverage concessions will be available and tables and chairs sitting will be provided.
For further information, call the STCA Brownsville Chapter, 956-545-8446 or visit www.conjunto.org.