Conjunto Hall of Fame inductee playing Thursday

SAN BENITO — The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center will host Ramon “Rabbit” Sanchez, recent inductee into the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Conjunto Hall of Fame in San Antonio, in its 3rd Thursday Conjunto Nights later this week.

Rabbit will be accompanied by master accordionist Bene Medina.

Rabbit has played with some of the top conjuntos in the U.S. for the past 54 years. His music repertoire includes conjunto, country, Tejano, rock and roll, blues and Cajun.

A native of Corpus Christi, he began studying bajo sexto and guitar with his father when he was 9, and first performed at 14 with Conjunto La Estrellita.

He made his professional debut at 16 with Cruz Torres y su Conjunto.

Since then he has performed with major conjuntos throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.

These include Flaco Jimenez, Santiago Jiménez Jr., Mingo Saldívar, Ángel Flores, Linda Escobar, Mickey Mendoza, Los Pavos Reales, Los Torbellinos del Norte, Roberto Ruiz, Agapito Zúñiga and many more.

He has recorded with these and many others.

He performed at President Clinton’s inauguration and was the first to play the bajo sexto at Carnegie Hall, New York (1994).

He received a Grammy nomination for his 2002 recording with Mingo Saldivar, featuring Blue Moon of Kentucky and Mexi-Cajun Cumbia.

He released his own CD, Ramon “Rabbit” Sanchez, in 2007.

In January of 2013, he was selected as a member of the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame.

His latest project is Old School Polkas del Ghost Town and Other Conjunto Music of South Texas, with Lorenzo Martinez, released in 2017 by Spring Fed Records.

He has taught bajo sexto, both under the auspices of the Texas Folklife Resources (Austin) as a master artist and on his own in an effort to continue the traditional music of the conjunto and to pass on his unique style and innovations.