Guitarras Zepedas

As many of you know, I play guitar. Others might know that I´ve been planning to purchase a guitar in Nicaragua since we first learned we were coming down here. It´s not that Nicaragua is famous for it´s guitars, it really just stemmed from the fact that I didn´t want to lug a full-size guitar all the way down here.

Well, it turned out to be a very good decision. Every Nicaraguan guidebook makes note of the Zepeda family, Nicaragua´s oldest family of luthiers (guys who build guitars). They have a workshop on the outskirts of Masaya, the artisan capital of Nicaragua. So, about a month back Jess, myself, and a few other volunteers made a trek out there to check out the guitar shop as well as the enormous and beautiful craft market. Some of you might remember the picture of us in sombreros...that´s Masaya. It turned out to be a great day. After a few hours of searching we came across the very humble workshop manned only by the family and a few extra hands.

The way things work there is like this: Sergio Zepeda´s (the main luthier) wife shows you around the workshop and takes you to a wall with several different sample guitars. You choose the look you like best and build from there. You have a ton of choices to make, customizing your guitar exactly how you´d like it. There were so many options, I would doubt if two of the same guitars have ever come out of that place. I spent about an hour and a half that Saturday pointing, drawing, gesturing, choosing, and constantly asking, ¨What if...¨

After you´ve made your choices, the luthiers go to work and PRESTO! In 4 weeks you´ve got a handmade, completely custom, very high quality guitar for literally a 10th of what you´d pay in the states.

I made a quick trip down to Masaya this past Friday to pick mine up, and I couldn´t be happier! The results are below. Sorry I don´t have better or more close up pictures, but I´m sure you´ll be seeing this guitar in a lot of pictures from now on.

Isn´t she a beauty?!