Flaco Jiménez health struggles explored as Tejano legend dies months after hospitalisation

The music community is grieving Grammy-winning Tejano icon Flaco Jiménez, who died at 86 on July 31, 2025, months after an early January hospital stay, which is now seen as a clear indication of his declining health.

Jimenez, whose career stretched across seven decades and won him six Grammys (including a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award), suffered multiple health issues in recent years but continued to be an ambassador of conjunto music until the very end.

Recently, he had been hospitalized for an undisclosed ailment on January 12, 2025, the latest episode in many years of health problems for Flaco Jiménez.

The San Antonio native took his Hohner three-row button accordion to the stages of the world. https://t.co/hDWQijPfAL pic.twitter.com/PRs1Eakgk4

— San Antonio Express-News (@ExpressNews) August 1, 2025

The legendary accordionist collapsed and broke his femur after he fell while on tour in 2015, forcing him into emergency hip surgery. "I'm all metal now. I'm bionic," he told San Antonio Express News. The injury forced him to cease touring with his beloved Texas Tornados.

"Physical therapy if going to take quite a while. You know, my operation a year ago on my spine and now this thing. I'm all metal now. I'm bionic now. You never know when something's going to happen," he told San Antonio Express News.

Four years later, in 2019, he landed back in the hospital with pneumonia and cancelled months of performances. He reassured his fans on his social media account at that time, saying:

"Unfortunately I will be spending a few days in the hospital with Pneumonia. With the help of my doctors and great staff, I am feeling much better and slowly recuperating. I apologize for any past or future canceled shows but I will soon get back to Doing what I Love, playing my accordion for my beloved fans," he said in a since deleated Facebook post.

Once again in 2023, a back surgery left him confined to the chair and severely impacted his ability to perform and carry out physical tasks.

A look into Flaco Jimenez's career and legacy as people mourn his death

While his health deteriorated, Jimenez’s influence never subsided. In 2021, his album Partners made it into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.

Flaco Jiménez became popular during the 1960s when he performed in a trio with Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet. He advanced by collaborating with greats like Dr. John, Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.

they should let Flaco Jiménez blow up the mall that replaced the stacks pic.twitter.com/QdCSeLbIhR

— Rhine Stoned Cowboy 🇵🇸 (@BisqueBoi) July 31, 2025

According to Blinging Beach, his famous Tex-Mex sound reached worldwide prominence with contributions to Ry Cooder's Chicken Skin Music and The Rolling Stones' Voodoo Lounge.

Flaco Jiménez played on the hit country single “Streets of Bakersfield,” and he later joined the Grammy-winning supergroup Texas Tornados. Jiménez became a member of Los Super Seven in 1998, which garnered him another Grammy award.

Tributes have come from other musicians and politicians, including Texas lawmakers who praised his role in preserving Mexican-American heritage. Though no cause of death has been reported, his family’s Facebook announcement on July 31 underscored that he died “surrounded by loved ones.”