Eva Ybarra

Ybarra was born on the west side of San Antonio, Texas, one of nine children.[2] Her father was a truck driver.[1] As a child, she played piano and accordion, later recounting: “I started by listening to the radio, and I learnt by ear, copying what I heard. But I didn’t want to copy anyone, I wanted my own style.”[2] She performed locally and on the radio from a young age,[1] and won her first record deal at age 14 with Rosina Records.[2]

Ybarra writes original music as the leader of the band Eva Ybarra y Su Conjunto. She is known for using non-standard chord progressions in her compositions.[2] She has said about her style: "I use a lot of inversions and scales. Pentatonic scales. Major 9th chords...I go to dances and can play traditional for people to dance, but I prefer concerts where I can play progressive music."[3] She performs on the accordion as well as the bajo sexto, guitarrón, electric bass, and keyboards.[4]

Her albums include A Mi San Antonio (For My San Antonio) (1993), and Romance Inolvidable (Unforgettable Romance) (1996).[2] They encompass several styles of music including rancheras, country songs, bolero tangos, huapangos, and ballads.[5] Some of her well-known songs include “A mi San Antonio,” “El gallito madrugador” (The Early Rising Rooster), “El perico loco” (The Crazy Parrot), and “A bailar con Eva” (Dance with Eva).[4]

Ybarra began performing regularly in the Tejano Conjunto Festival, hosted by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, in 1981.[6] She has also taught music performance at the University of Washington and Palo Alto College, at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, and for the Apprenticeship Program of Texas Folklife.[2] She was featured in the touring exhibit "American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music."[7]

She was inducted into the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Conjunto Hall of Fame, the Tejano R.O.O.T.S Hall of Fame, the Univision Salon de Fama and the Tejano Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum.[8] She received the South Texas Conjunto Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015[8] and was a 2017 NEA National Heritage Fellow.[2]

She continues to live and perform in San Antonio.[3]

Video of Eva Ybarra at the 2017 NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert