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Reyes Accordions is generally one of the most acclaimed accordion companies worldwide. It primarily caters to the Latino market, bridging both their Tex-Mex Norteño and Conjunto.
Presently, Reyes Accordions strongly highlights the three-row button accordion, and soon they will be expanding their coverage to include the piano accordion.
Based on its history, the Reyes Accordions began as a family tradition. Gilbert Reyes, the current company owner, had stated on one of the interviews that his grandfather picked up his first accordion when he was just fifteen years old. His great grandfather was the one who traded livestock in exchange for a row of diatonic accordion from a German merchant in Monterrey Nuevo Leon, Mexico in 1927.
Back in 1942 when the father and grandfather of Gilbert Reyes crossed the Rio Grande River and settled in Texas, polka music had already created an impression on the people, particularly on his grandfather.
The following year, his grandfather brought the two-row diatonic accordion and began experimenting with the polkas. Later on, after having been exposed to a number of great accordion players, his grandfather realized that music is his way of expressing himself.
Gilbert’s father on the other hand was not well-known for his music nor did he care. At that time, Conjunto was actually a poor working man’s music that did not really hold any value in mainstream music.
Conjunto, the music of Gilbert’s father, is not a very popular music genre although some who favor this style of music think it is.
It is remarkable to know that Gilbert’s grandfather was the one who left a great impression on Gilbert. He was the one who gave Gilbert the umbilical cord that connects him with the heritage, culture, and people. And, it was his music that gave life to the Reyes Accordions.
Now the vision of Reyes Accordions is to not only sell the highest quality accordions but also to provide the customer with the necessary information particularly with regards to the Norteño and Tex-mex genre.
As a musician with Reyes Accordions, Gilbert understands the needs of both the non-English and English speaking customers. The company is presently staffed with accordion professionals, including Tina Valenzuela, Sara Fernandez, Gilbert Reyes, and Mark D.
It is also nice to know that Reyes Accordions knows and understands both styles of music through the help of its highly dedicated accordions staff. A contributing factor here could be that Gilbert Reyes and the rest of his staff has been playing the three-row button accordion since they were fourteen years old. As Gilbert Reyes once said, “success comes from knowing your product and customer”.
Tagged with: history of accordion
Filed under: Buying an Accordion