Pedro Ayala (June 29, 1911[1] – December 1, 1990[2]), called "El Monarca del Acordeón", was a Mexican accordionist and songwriter from General Terán, Nuevo León, Mexico.
[citation needed] His family migrated to the United States when Pedro was about eight years old, settling in the town of Donna, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley and working as farm laborers.
[3] By age fourteen, Pedro had learned the two-row button accordion, guitar and was playing with one of his favorite accordionists, Chon Alaniz.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Ayala was a well-respected performer among working-class Mexican Americans living in Texas, earning the title "El Monarca del Acordeon" (Monarch of the Accordion).
[1] Throughout his career, Ayala remained true to the stylistic core of conjunto music, but also added innovations such as incorporating the toloche (stand-up bass) to the ensemble.