BRIEF HISTORY OF A GUITAR
Tribute to Enrique García on the centenary of his death by Diego Milanese
Enrique García, whose death was the centenary last October 31st, was the object of some of my research that began several years ago. This short essay comes from the casual observation of an old black and white photograph depicting a very famous guitarist during his last concert. A famous image, very present in the visual memory of guitarists. But what can happen if the attention shifts from the main subject, the guitarist in the act of playing, to the instrument he is playing, a guitar? It can happen, as in this case, that you recognize from some details something that you have already seen somewhere before and that at the time you don’t quite remember where.
The instrument in question is a guitar in Brazilian rosewood and spruce, built in 1904 with serial number 43, made by the famous luthier Enrique García Castillo (Madrid 1868 – Barcelona 1922) in his workshop in Barcelona, at the time located in Calle Aragón 369. Why can this topic be of public interest? Mainly because it involves two apical figures in the history of the guitar, the luthier and the guitarist for whom this instrument was built; moreover, following the traces marked by the passage of this guitar from one continent to another, a historical cross-section of great interest is highlighted.
Continue to read here: https://www.siccasguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/07/Garcia-article-by-Diego-Milanese.pdf
