Musicians Mourn Guitarist Killed in Juarez

Violence in Juarez has claimed the life of a widely respected musician.

Friends said carjackers attacked 77-year-old guitarist Aquiles Valdez Ortiz in late May.

He died this week.

Former students and fellow musicians said it’s a devastating blow.

“When he walked into a room – if you didn’t know him, you wanted to get close to him because he was just too good and too nice,” said former student Mario Otero, now a professional guitarist at La Guitarra Studio in West El Paso.

The head of UTEP’s guitar program remembered a kind teacher and exceptional musician.

“It’s one thing to be a good musician, and a great musician, which (Valdez) was,” said John Siqueiros. “It’s another thing to be a great human being, and he was that too.”

Otero said Valdez picked up his first guitar at five years old, and spent his life giving concerts in El Paso, Juarez and throughout Mexico.

He also taught at UTEP for 26 years, and instructed at La Guitarra.

He practiced so hard that his fellow musicians would watch him go into a practice room, and find him asleep, hours later, with his guitar in his lap.

In fact, it was after leaving La Guitarra the night of May 26th that friends say carjackers attacked him in Juarez.

UTEP professor Dr. Tony Payan said that kind of non-cartel-related crime in Juarez has spiked as the city’s economy has slowed dramatically.

“What we are seeing in Ciudad Juarez in the last two years is definitely without precedence,” Payan said. “I’m not just talking about the drug business – I’m talking about the actual level of desperation and poverty in the city.”