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Accordions are becoming hip again

Veronika Caballero, right, wife of owner Dave Caballero, teaches Emily Gaughenbaugh, 92, how to play the accordion while caught in a reflection at Dave's Accordion School in Atwater Village. Gaughenbaugh said she took up the instrument a couple of months ago, in part because it beats doing crossword puzzles.

Veronika Caballero, right, wife of owner Dave Caballero, teaches Emily Gaughenbaugh, 92, how to play the accordion while caught in a reflection at Dave’s Accordion School in Atwater Village. Gaughenbaugh said she took up the instrument a couple of months ago, in part because it beats doing crossword puzzles.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Years ago, people went door to door recruiting kids to take accordion lessons and schools cropped up all over L.A. Through the years, though, almost all of them have closed down. But Dave’s Accordion School, which opened in Atwater Village in 1971, is still open. Now it’s one of the few remaining places where people can take lessons or get their accordions fixed.

Latino accordion students

Accordion students Jason Sanchez, left, George Magallanes and Eduardo Rocha learn a new song while Ontono Lujan, not shown, teaches them how to play the button accordion during his weekly Saturday morning class at Plaza de La Raza in Los Angeles. Unlike in American culture, where the accordion is sometimes considered nerdy, in Latino culture it’s often quite revered.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Teaching the button accordion

Otono Lujan helps student Sylvia Gonzales with a new song while teaching his weekly Saturday morning class on playing the button accordion. Lujan, who plays in a band called Conjunto Los Pochos, has been teaching students how to play the accordion for many years.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Wide range of ages

Accordion students Miguel Sevilla, left, Sylvia Gonzales, Karlos Burciaga and Ken Jones listen as Ontono Lujan instructs them on how to play the button accordion during his weekly Saturday morning class at Plaza de La Raza in Los Angeles. Lujan’s students range in age from 8 to 80.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Learning a new song

Accordion students George Magallanes, left, and Eduardo Rocha learn a new song while Ontono Lujan instructs them on how to play the button accordion.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Dave's Accordion School

Dave Caballero, 68, repairs an accordion at Dave’s Accordion School in Atwater Village. Dave’s is one of the only remaining places in Los Angeles where people can learn to play the accordion or get their accordions fixed. The school has been in Atwater Village for four decades.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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