In the city of Masaya, considered the cradle of folklore and handicrafts in Nicaragua, a small family workshop has been making different types of this wooden and stringed instrument for more than 80 years.
Sergio Zepeda is the third generation of the family dedicated to this craft inherited from his paternal grandfather. It takes a lot of dedication and effort for him if he wants to build a high-end instrument that impresses both visually and sonically.
“The fundamental thing in building a guitar is knowing how to choose the wood, which above all must be valuable to build the soundboard and achieve a high resonance,” Zepeda explained to Prensa Latina.
This requires woods such as Canadian red cedar and German fir, the world’s best for the manufacture of said instrument, which was first brought to Latin America in the 17th century.
The acoustic box is made of different types of wood such as mahogany, cocobolo and charcoal, which are abundant in Nicaragua. In this way, the workshop has specialized in classical or Spanish guitars, but also manages to build other types with other styles, either with nylon or metal strings.
“Here we practically make different types of stringed instruments such as requintas, ukulele, mandolin, guitarrilla, three Cuban and four Puerto Rican instruments used in different musical genres,” he commented.
Besides being a luthier, Sergio was also a member of the groups “Macolla” and “Los Mokuanes”, musical references of the 1980s and 1990s in this Central American nation. This knowledge enables him to produce high quality instruments sought after by customers in Australia, Canada, Italy and Spain; Next to the local market.
“It taught me that the product must have good intonation and quality, both in presentation and intonation,” he emphasized.
The Zepeda workshop has been working by hand with a single assistant for more than 20 years and produces about 12 guitars a month, but the production depends on the type and quality of the instrument. The cheapest ones are ready in 15 days, while other more specialized ones take a month.
According to the craftsman, this is also influenced by the incoming orders, for example pegs, strings and covers, the latter from European and Asian countries.
Although Zepeda Guitars has been a well-known brand in Nicaragua for almost a century and their offerings are now advertised on their website, Sergio’s biggest concern is that the family tradition is dying.
“I have two children and I hope that one of them will later pursue this beautiful profession, although I know that young people now prefer other professions before they get dirty with sawdust,” he assured.
However, the craftsman expressed his pride in carrying on the family tradition for more than 40 years and turning Zepeda guitars into true works of art.
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