Three-time
Grammy Nominee

  In 2001, Jimenez Jr. joined Willie Nelson, Debbie Allen, Tommy Lee Jones and others  as recipients of the first Texas Medal  of Arts Awards.

2000 National Heritage Fellowship in the Folk & Traditional Arts

•    Santiago has performed all over Europe, at New York's Carnegie Hall, Grant Park in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia plus many other major cities.
     Yet Santiago Jr. humbly states, "I don't have much to offer, just the music in my heart until I die.
     That's what I'm going to do, play and give of myself until I die. Just like my father."

•    Spanish conjunto songs are lively and direct and deal with real-life situations-work, love and dance. Jimenez Jr. is a living memory of a time when the Mexican-American people of South Texas were making their presence known amid social oppression, forced assimilation and economic difficulty. His music represents the experience of a people and a culture, and it is celebrated for having helped shape a society that retains a strong cultural identity.