128 years of bringing music to the world

“The goodness they find in my songs and my music comes from this land.” Leonard Cohen ended his acceptance speech a few years ago this way: Prince of Asturias Award. The artist has just recounted how a young Hispanic man he met in a park near his mother’s home in Montreal taught him six chords on the guitar before committing suicide, and how those chords became integrated into his life. The basis for every one of his works over the years. In that touching speech, he also mentioned the guitar he had at the time, saying, “It’s nice, but it’s not the Count’s.”

Now, it’s been five years, almost five years, since the singer-songwriter gave that speech. 130 Kantian Guitar Tradition We started by talking to the third generation of the family about history, craftsmanship and, above all, how little importance Spain places on the products we make with our own hands.

To find the origins of this story, we have to go back to 1895, when young Domingo Esteso, just a teenager, entered a company called “The Children of Manuel Gonzalez”, located on Carretas Street. “From there he went to another workshop and then in 1915 he set up shop in his own guitar workshop,” said Felipe Conde, Esteso’s great-nephew and the third generation of the family to run the workshop, which is now just a stone’s throw away. A few steps away. Teatro Real, located at Arrieta Street, 4. “My great-grandfather made guitars for professionals like Agustín Barrios, Regino Sainz de la Maza or Sabicas,” he points out.

In 1937, Domingo Esteso died of pneumonia. After the Civil War, Conde’s father and uncle took over the studio. “In 1940 they started making guitars under the name “Esteso’s Widow and Nephew” Out of respect for their aunt, from 1959 they began to call themselves the ‘Conte Brothers’,” he explains. In 1989, after the death of Felipe’s father, he took over the studio. “I’ve been around since birth. “I’ve been playing guitar since I was born, but as a profession I’ll be turning 50 in 2021,” he said. To celebrate, he has created a series of 25 absolutely unique acoustic guitars. black rosewood, one of the most sought after varieties by craftsmen around the world. He also reissued the album that his father and uncle had produced for Paco de Lucía, “a work that he has had a soft spot for for the past 40 years.”

As Felipe explains, it’s the support from professionals around the world that allows them to make a living from their crafts in a world where they are in danger of extinction. “There are a lot of pros who play my guitar now, and in the past my dad and uncle’s guitars too, like Paco Cepero, Enrique de Melchor, Rinho Ricardo, Esteban de Sanlucar…”, he says in his studio, which is filled with photos of famous guitarists and their works. Nowadays, Felipe plays for Bob Dylan or the British singer-songwriter Carter Smith Teevens makes guitars, and he just delivered two guitars to them a few weeks ago. “I’ve also made guitars for Habichuela, Al Di Meola, Jesse Cook…” he lists.

“We are rare birds,” Felipe said, “because unfortunately in Spain craftsmanship is not paid.” The reality that they live so close together makes them 90% of their guitars are sold outside of Spain. “Here, people try to buy things for very little money, but when you spend a month on an acoustic guitar and another month on varnish, because it requires quality, besides, a lot of money is spent on On the materials purchased years ago, they said: “We have to pay you a minimum wage or you won’t survive on this. ” However, he admitted that this is nothing new. “It happened to my father and my uncle, it happened to me, and it will happen to my fourth-generation son. There are some people who take it seriously, but in comparison, they are very few. “

However, as Cohen said at the awards ceremony, the fact is that Hispanic culture has been the basis for many creations around the world. “It seems like we always have to prove that what we have is worth it, In fact, people have valued it for centuries. “