SAN BARTOLOME
About a week ago, Patricio took Steve and me to a small town
East of Cuenca called San Bartolome. Almost everyone in the town makes guitars, but there is one family that has been building them for centuries. I first heard of this town when I read about
it in Cuenca High Life, an expat newsletter:
Another short article - same place:
The guitars, mandolins, and various other stringed instruments
they build are beautiful. I was hoping
to talk Steve into buying one as he had sold both of his before we came down
here. He didn’t, but I think we will go back in a
few weeks, and get one, as not only are they beautiful, and sound great, they
would double in value as soon as we leave the valley, plus I
would like to re-learn what I used to know about playing a guitar. These guitars are world renown and have been special ordered by the likes of Freddy Fender. Since I once again forgot the
camera, a couple of YouTube
links that show the exact shop we went to:
 |
| The match boxes hold different inlay pattern pieces |
And speaking of music (well, more like noise), Steve and I
have found ourselves not one, but two drumming groups here in Cuenca. It
started with an announcement in Gringo Tree (related to Cuenca High Life)
looking for people to join a drum circle.
I contacted them, and we joined them the following Sunday. That fairly small group gets together for drumming for the relaxation and
healing drumming is known for. They always
have some extra drums along, so we used borrowed drums and had a great time. Then they told us of another circle that
meets directly after theirs a few blocks away – so off we went to drum some
more. The second group is at a park and anyone and
everyone is encouraged to stop and drum or rattle or clang or dance or whatever
they feel like. It gets huge. By the end of the day,
our fingers were numb and stiff and we felt jazzed and refreshed. We have gone twice now, and are actively
looking for drums which are hard to find in Cuenca. Sure miss the ones we left behind. We did
find out there is a fellow who makes drums out of agave roots. I
played with one Sunday and it sounded pretty good.
We are getting musical again, and we have met some really
wonderful people.
