Eva Ybarra is an accordionist with her group
"Eva Ybarra y su Conjunto", a tejano conjunto from San
Antonio, Texas. She is known as the "Queen of the
Accordion". Eva was born in San Antonio and began playing
the accordion at the age of four. She comes from a musical
family. All nine siblings, as well as her parents, are
musicians, songwriters, and poets. Her mother and sister
wrote songs appearing in Eva's records. At the young age of
six, Eva was known as a professional accordionist,
showcasing her talent in restaurants, clubs, and cantinas.
She has taught accordion and bajo sexto (12 string guitar)
at the University of Washington and released two records
with one in the making, as well as collaborated with other
popular tejano musicians. Eva is unique in that she is one
of very few women accordionists to achieve success in a
typiclly male dominated genre. According to Cathy Ragland,
an ethnomusicologist and producer of Eva's recordings,
"Ybarra stands out as one of the best and most creative
accordionists among a plethora of squeeze-box
royalty."
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