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Home , Acoustic guitar, Bajo sexto, David Hidalgo, Luthier, Tres (instrument), Vihuela

Heir to a -making dynasty, Manuel Delgado adds kindness and care to his instruments

TEXT BY KAREN PETERSON HEARTSONG PHOTOS BY BILL STEBER

40 August 2015

040-045_272_Delgado.indd 40 6/8/15 8:56 AM Delgado “Monica” hybrid Delgado “Marta” classical hybrid Delgado “Rosario” OM steel string

or 87 years, the Delgado family has The Delgado family’s Candelas on ARTISAN AS BUSINESSMAN crafted guitars and traditional fretted Cesar Chavez Avenue in East Los Angeles is as That was then, this is now, and the past is F instruments for musicians such as legendary as its list of clients. It was established behind him, save for his unwavering attach- Andrès Segovia and , doing so primar- in 1948 by Delgado’s grandfather, Porfirio ment to the memories and the lessons learned ily from their iconic East Los Angeles location. Delgado Flores, and his great-uncle, Candelario by the men he repeatedly invokes during the Today, third-generation Delgado luthier Manuel Delgado Flores (Candelas). interview: his father, Candelario, who died in continues to carry on the family tradition, but The Delgado brothers began making guitars 1996, and grandfather, who passed in 1999. not in L.A. He’s moved to Nashville, where the in a small Mexican village, moving to Juarez, Both inspired how he approaches his artistry: trained boxer, who once toyed with the idea of , and then to East L.A. classical-guitar always with respect, and always by hand. joining the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Depart- legend Andrés Segovia, a repeat customer, put Unlike many modern , Delgado ment, is carving out his own niche as a master the brothers on the map, and there was no handcrafts his guitars and the 35 other folk craftsman. turning back: pop, folk, country, and flamenco instruments in his portfolio, painstakingly and In a world so often defined by its sharp players such as Jackson Browne, José Feliciano, throughout, often spending hours on just the edges, a conversation with the 43-year-old Burl Ives, Arlo Gutherie, Hoyt Axton, Charo, the details. He has no assistants. Delgado is pleasantly disarming. Deeply philo- Kingston Trio, and many others, bought and The exacting process limits the number of sophical, and spiritual, he is keenly aware of his played Delgado guitars. Walt Disney called on instruments he makes each year—20 to 25, he heritage as son and grandson of renowned clas- the master craftsmen to build the original estimates. (Prices are generally in the $6,500 sical guitar makers, and how that birthright Mickey Mouse Club guitar. range.) But methodical, rapt attention to the informs who he is and how he works today. He’s For Manuel Delgado, the move in 2005 to task is the only way he can work; it’s a process, a grateful man. Nashville with his wife, singer and songwriter he says, that allows the “individual potential of “I feel I’ve been given a gift and look at it as Julie Mooneyham, was an exodus and a strug- the instrument to come out.” a responsibility. I can take it and squander it, gle, he admits. It meant leaving behind strong Much like a sculptor who sees the form hide it or not share it, or I can look at what I familial and cultural roots, and, of course, the within the raw material, Delgado says he has a have and do something good with it,” says family business, to face the competitive reality conversation with the . “It tells me if it Delgado, who custom builds both nylon- and of establishing his own Delgado Guitars from wants more thickness at the top or which way it steel-string guitars, adding, “It’s how I feel scratch—and doing so not just in any city, but wants to be planed,” he says. about everything.” in the anointed Music City. He also has a conversation with the person “I currently build more steel-string acoustic who has commissioned the instrument. Or, guitars over classical nylon, but I build a great rather, an in-depth interview (sometimes, he many instruments that are used in Latin music jokes, it’s more like “spending time on the ther- that can have either nylon or steel strings,” apist’s couch”), the point of which is to discover Delgado says. “For example, the Cuban I’m who the future owner is, beyond the obvious. making has steel strings, the Bajo has It’s about unearthing the details of the heart steel strings, but the Jarana is nylon, the that might then be incorporated into his final is nylon, guitarrón is nylon. design, whether it’s a type of wood more com- “But I think being in Nashville, I get a lot patible in its tone with the client’s voice or, as in more steel-string players over classical guitars.” a recent commission, fashioning a guitar rife with symbolism. In the latter case, the personalized features included a 25-inch body span from nut to Left saddle, signifying the client’s 25 years of mar- Candelario Delgado Flores in 1971 riage, and a rosette designed as a three-banded

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‘I LEARNED FROM MY FATHER, AND WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES, I CAN STILL SEE MY FATHER’S AND GRANDFATHER’S crown of thorns, with South American blood- steel string and his acoustic bass optimized for HANDS, wood as a backing, here in honor of the man’s amplification—but also a catalog of world TELLING STORIES.’ deep Christian faith. instruments, from flamenco guitars and With his research in hand, Delgado begins to the Irish and classic Latin instru- For Delgado, it’s about building authenticity to fashion his creations. “I begin with the end ments like the guitarrón, vihuela, and the Cuban into all that he crafts, a mission that today [product] in mind. I design and build it in my tres. involves a commitment to ensure the accuracy head, and play it in my heart before I start.” For Delgado, it doesn’t matter what type of of his own musical culture, , which has “I’m not intent on building what others are instrument he’s commissioned, or wants, to exploded in popularity in classrooms and com- doing,” he adds. “If a client wants a guitar to make—it goes back to the all-important initial munities across the United States. In Nashville, look like a Stratocaster, I say, ‘Someone else is conversation with the instrument and, in this too: just before he spoke with , building them already.’ But if they want a Strat case, an added analogy: “A surgeon can operate Delgado had been at a meeting about the pro- built from a unique angle, I say, ‘Now you’ve on someone from the US or Cambodia,” he says. posed Plaza Mariachi—Music City, a got my attention.’ I want to build what you “While each patient may have a different outer 60,000--foot mixed-use plaza complete can’t find somewhere else.” look and different DNA, the important things— with an entertainment stage. the heartbeat, the blood flow—are the same.” The of the joyous of DEDICATED TO AUTHENTICITY To successfully render any instrument, from mariachi is good news for all involved, Latino Happiest in his shop, Delgado muses that “I any culture, the craftsman must “respect and or not, but with the caveat that mariachi, like could build all day long, Segovia playing in the honor what makes them unique,” says Delgado, any musical genre, sounds best when played background.” from the traditions that define them to the with its native instruments: most used in That shop, attached to the home he shares native wood that creates their tones, whether schools aren’t the traditional stringed instru- with his wife and two young daughters in the it’s a Western guitar or a , a stringed ments, like the guitarrón and vihuela, which hip and historic East Nashville neighborhood, instrument originally from southern Mexico make mariachi soar, but with substitute stan- houses not only Western guitars—classical and and now a fixture in Tex-Mex music. dard guitars.

42 August 2015

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A Birdseye overlay on a Delgado “”

B Delgado “Hutzel” A B square neck resophonic with a Sitka top, African fi gerboard, Honduras neck

C Andrés Segovia with Candelario Delgado when they met at the Sheraton West in Los Angeles, 1960s.

D Delgado “Monica” fl amenco Hybrid model. Spruce top with maple back and sides, Honduras mahogany neck, African ebony fi ngerboard with C D rope

In 2006, Delgado opened a second business, Yet at one point, he realized that his heri- creating his charity “Unity Guitar.” Colored in La Tradición Music, with the goal of handcraft- tage “was my identity. It is who I am, I can’t patriotic stars-and-stripes, it is built of wood ing true mariachi instruments and, ambitiously, separate the two.” from around the world: African ebony for the pricing them affordably. It was a tough business His father’s passing hit hard, and as he talked fretboard, Honduras mahogany for the neck, model to actualize, but in 2012, La Tradición he recalled synchronistic moments in recent years Canadian spruce on top, and US maple on the Music partnered with national instrument when the “who I am” became abundantly clear— , sides, and back. dealer West Music, which serves the education seeing photographs of his father when he was The sides and back of the guitar display market. While the instruments are not fully Manuel’s age today; remembering that his father autographs signed by some of popular music’s handcrafted, Delgado assures they’re up to his had once thought of relocating to Nashville (“It biggest names: Glen Campbell, Emmylou high standards. felt like I’d received a blessing from dad,” he Harris, Smokey Robinson, the Dixie Chicks, Earl says); getting a call from Arlo Gutherie, who Scruggs, , and Los Lobos’ Louie DEFINING HIS IDENTITY learned of his Nashville shop and wanted to know Perez and David Hidalgo, as well as other Latin As a child, Delgado hung out in the family if he’d do some repairs on the guitar Delgado’s entertainers, such as actress Alejandra Guzmán shop, at first building wooden toys, then gradu- father had made him years ago. and rockers Jaguares. ating to handcrafting his first guitar at age 12. “I learned from my father,” Delgado says, The kick-off was held at a street party in front Still, following in his family footsteps wasn’t “and when I close my eyes, I can still see my of the Delgado’s East L.A. shop, where eclectic always in the forefront. There was a period in father’s and grandfather’s hands, telling stories.” funk-rockers performed for free. When his life when the idea of going into law enforce- Now his hands are telling the stories, the auction was over and more than $35,000 was ment struck a chord. His father had been a notable among them is one that stands in raised, Delgado donated the money to help fami- boxing coach for the L.A.P.D. After his death, homage to what else he learned from his men- lies of undocumented workers, of any ethnicity, Manuel stepped in as his replacement. He was tors—“to be respectful of others’ struggles.” who died in the collapsed Twin Towers. planning to attend the Los Angeles County Following the September 11, 2001, attack “Kindness and love, that’s what music is AVAILABLE FROM AUTHORIZED ALVAREZ DEALERS Sheriff’s Academy. on the World Trade Center, Delgado began about,” he says. AG For more information visit www.alvarezguitars.com/grateful-dead-series 44 August 2015

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