Guitarras Zepeda in Masaya

When we lived in Nicaragua, our son was still in high school, and was wild for guitars and drums. So we explored the guitar scene a little and found Guitarras Zepeda in Masaya where they make guitars for local use and I believe also for export. Does anyone know if they export their guitars and where they might export them?

One day we spent some time at the workshop and talked with the crew -- Maicol (left) was the boss, and the rest of the guys followed his lead in showing us how they made the beautiful guitars.

Below are pictures of some of the young men who worked there -- Walter, Jhason, and Duglas.













The process starts in the heated drying rooms, where planks of cedar are laid out to cure. The oven, pictured below, is used for additional curing.










The wood is then manipulated and formed into the guitar mold pictured below.

With a variety of tools and dextrous hands, the wood is fashioned into one of the proto-guitars hanging from the ceiling below, in the workshop.

The paint table was an amazing work of chaos in itself, but evidently the workers are experts -- the beautiful results speak for themselves!









Below, right, is the polisher, which is really huge and seems like a bit of overkill for polishing the delicate guitars! But again, these young men are experts! The finished products are really exquisite, some very simple and elegant, some with bits of inlaid work. The sound produced by these guitars will have to be tested by someone more versed in music and guitars, but to my eyes, these guitars were lovely works of art.