For generations, conjunto music has filled dance halls, family gatherings and neighborhood stages across Texas and the borderlands. Now, “Puro Conjunto: Border(less) Sound,” a new exhibit opening June 11 at the Institute of Texan Cultures, will explore the people, instruments and stories behind the soundtrack of those communities.
Through rare artifact loans, community partnerships, archival research, interactive storytelling and immersive musical experiences, “Puro Conjunto” reflects ITC’s ongoing commitment to preserving cultural history and strengthening connections between the university and the community.
“This exhibit is a shining example of how the ITC collaborates with our many university and community partners,” said Monica Perales, PhD, associate vice provost for the institute. “By bringing together archives, music and storytelling, we’re creating an experience that connects people to the cultural history of Texas.”
Since its inception, the institute has worked directly with communities to help preserve and share their own stories, and the creation of “Puro Conjunto” has brought together music historians, families and cultural institutions that safeguard components of a shared heritage.
The search for artifacts and stories connected to conjunto music led the institute to the Texas Music Museum archive in Austin, which holds a wide array of artifacts and stories from the state’s musical heritage. The exhibit will feature several artifacts on loan from the music museum that have not left its collection in more than 40 years, including Bruno Villarreal’s accordion and a performance dress worn by Lydia Mendoza.
For “Puro Conjunto,” the ITC has also borrowed a bajo sexto from Luminaria, signed by Flaco Jimenez, Augie Meyers and Max Baca. Its appearance in the exhibit marks the first time this Mexican 12-string bass has been showcased publicly.
Partnerships like these continue the institute’s longstanding role as a trusted cultural steward and demonstrate how UT San Antonio collaborates with communities and peer institutions to preserve and share regional history.
“Puro Conjunto” will transform visitors from observers into participants. Guests can pick up and play various instruments central to the conjunto sound, including a mandolin, accordion and drum. With conjunto music playing in the background, visitors can step onto the mock dance floor and move to the rhythms that have filled the air at generations of community gatherings or dedicate favorite songs from a curated playlist featured on the institute’s social media channels.
“This exhibit celebrates the enduring vitality of conjunto as both a musical tradition and a layered, living cultural archive,” said ITC head curator Bianca Alvarez. “At its core, ‘Puro Conjunto’ is about community — about the rhythm of everyday life, memory, and celebration. It invites audiences to experience the genre as a powerful expression of identity and belonging by acknowledging the artists, instruments, and stories that keep conjunto vibrant and relevant today.”
The exhibit will also include numerous historical photos, oral histories and research materials from UT San Antonio Libraries Special Collections to help document the evolution of conjunto music and the communities connected to it. As part of its development, “Puro Conjunto” underwent a peer-review process that brought together scholars, cultural practitioners and community experts, reflecting the institute’s approach to combining academic research with lived experience and community knowledge.
“The institute has been a model of community collaboration since it began,” Perales said. “We continue that work today: to be a partner and a space where communities can tell their own stories. This is the foundation upon which the institute was built almost 60 years ago, and that collaborative spirit is central to how we connect cultural heritage, education and public engagement.”
This collaborative approach extends beyond exhibit development. Partnering with UT San Antonio’s College of Education and Human Development (COEHD), “Puro Conjunto” will be incorporated into a new Texkit, an in-class exhibit program that will be taken into the community. The university’s COEHD students used the exhibit to develop classroom materials and hands-on learning activities that meet the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements for students from elementary through high school.
Additionally, the institute welcomed St. Mary’s University student Nathaniel Liveris as a curatorial intern during the spring semester. His work contributed to the research and development of “Puro Conjunto,” including a digital exhibit focused on corridos — traditional Mexican storytelling songs — and particularly, the Corrido de Gregorio Cortez.
Content from Liveris’s project was adapted from “Sounds of San Anto,” a digital humanities initiative developed through UT San Antonio Libraries’ Community-Engaged Digital Scholarship program. The connection highlights how the institute draws on university research, digital scholarship and community knowledge to create a public-facing experience that preserves and shares South Texas cultural history.
These partnerships address the institute’s broader efforts to extend learning opportunities beyond the museum walls and into classrooms and communities across the region.
“Puro Conjunto: Border(less) Sound” is on display from June 11, 2026, through May 30, 2027. The exhibit’s run will include panel discussions, workshops and additional content created for the museum’s social media channels (@texancultures on most platforms).
Museum hours are Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Wednesdays reserved for school field trips. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, youth or military, and free for UT San Antonio students, faculty and staff with ID. Additional details can be found at TexanCultures.utsa.edu. This exhibit is generously supported by the Summerlee Foundation.
