Country : | Argentina - Buenos Aires |
Year : | 1933 |
Scale length : | 65 cm |
Top : | Spruce |
Back & side | Algarrobo |
Fingerboard : | Ebony - 52mm |
Body length : | 490 mm |
Body width : | 270/240/355 mm |
Body depth | 97 / 105 mm |
Weight : | 1 387g |
Action : | 3/3,8 mm |
Condition : | Good : have been well restored, good sound and playabilité |
Price : |
Sold |
This is what Domingo Prat says about Celestino Méndez Cancio in his "Dictionary" published in 1933 (the year this guitar was built): "Famous contemporary Spanish guitar maker. He was born in the village of Sabariz (Asturias) on March 17, 1883. At the age of fifteen, he moved with his elders to the Republic of Argentina. He arrived in this country in 1898. He apprenticed as a woodworker in several important factories in Buenos Aires, and soon after joined the Nuñez workshop. His patriotic condition and a certain kinship that united them, made Nuñez take an interest in Méndez, teaching him in a short period of time theoretical and practical knowledge in the construction of guitars. Fifteen years of continuous work under the orders of this Galician craftsman were the best proof of the right to independence that knowledge confers. Méndez Cancio, with his own workshop, studies and works constantly with intelligence and faith, like his ancestors and the illustrious Cremonese; he is interested above all in the beauty of the sound, and the best way to obtain it is to "concentrate" on the right varnish with the right formula and the way to apply it; the bridge which, by its width, length and thickness, can make a more or less important contribution; the soundboard, and in this order all the construction, combining his good taste for beauty, such as purfling, mosaics, heads etc. .. . Today, this builder belongs to the first rank, worthy of being admired by guitarists and guitar builders."
It can be seen in "Asociacion Guitarristica Argentina Boletin" No. 2 that, as Prat says, Méndez's guitars appear among the greatest names of that time. The guitar presented here has been well restored by a luthier from Buenos Aires: Gabriel Coppola. As can be seen in the photos, it is a beautiful guitar, all the charm that emerges from its aesthetics is found in its sound, a rarity to be discovered in order to immerse oneself in the musicality of this period.