South Texas Living Magazine (1) Dec. 2014 | Página 6

AKKINEPALLY STORY
by Mary Lee Grant

Satyajith Akkinepally plays flamenco guitar outside Goetsch Music
Company, soulfully, rhythmically, as passersby stop to listen. An old
man sits down beside him and Akkinepally hands him a guitar. The
old man begins to play Mexican rancheras. Akkinepally listens with
respect and fascination.
“I enjoy learning about Mexican and Texas music, and I am even
learning Spanish,” said Akkinepally, 24, an electrical engineering
graduate student from Hyderabad, India. “I went to a country dance
place, and I loved it-the big hats, the boots, the huge personalities.”
It may seem unusual that a student from southern India should
develop such a passion for flamenco, but Akkinepally says it makes
sense, from a historical and cultural perspective.
“Flamenco is gypsy music,” he said. “And the gypsies originally
came from the Indian state of Rajasthan and middle eastern countries.
The colorful clothes, jewelry, dance and music was from there. Then
they ended up migrating to southern Spain, in Andalusia.
Akkinepally is a great admirer of gypsy culture, and says he is a bit of
a gypsy himself.
“I lived like a gypsy traveling on my motorcycle and trains all around
India with my guitar, eating and resting in different places,” he said.
Now he plays anywhere he gets a chance. He often is at Goetsch
Music on Saturdays, attracting customers with guitar music. He also
offers lessons.
He has played at the open mike night at t