Folk Arts - Master Artist - Juan Barco

Juan Barco. Photo by Fritz Dent.

Juan Barco has been playing conjunto music for many years and is an accomplished guitarist and song writer. Juan often performs with his sister-in-law, Theresa Guzman, and other members of the talented Guzman family of Yakima.

Bajo sexto, a stringed instrument similar to a bass guitar, is a component of the tejano conjunto music. Established in the 1930s in Texas and brought to central Washington with Mexican-Americans who migrated there to work, conjunto music plays a fundamental role in Mexican-American culture. It is heard at many traditional cultural events such as quinceañeras, bautizos, and dia de tu santo celebrations.

As a recipient of a 1996 Apprenticeship, Barco taught Andres Gonzalez, to play the bajo sexto in the tejano conjunto style.

For Andres, playing tejano conjunto music is a family tradition. Andres was exposed to conjunto music at an early age. His father is an accomplished accordion player and Gonzalez himself plays the guitar. He learned to play by listening to his father and dad's friends who often gathered in his house to play. For some time he had wanted to learn bajo sexto, but he had difficulty finding a teacher, as few bajo sexto players exist. Andres aspires to play the bajo sexto for the public in a conjunto (which literally means group).