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The Spanish
luthier Rafael
Moreno Rodriguez was born in Tanger in 1954. When he was six years old, his
parents moved to El Fargue, Granada. After a short time there, his parents
moved to Granada, being a better place to educate their children. When
Rafael was 13 he apprenticed to Manuel Lopez Bellido. Manuel later formed an
association with Antonio Marin Montero, and Rafael spent some years working
with them. There he shared a workbench and work with Francisco Santiago
Marin. He then went to work with Eduardo Ferrer Castillo (where he worked
with Antonio Duran right from the beginning, who was always more of a friend
than a boss, and along side of Antonio Reinosa Velaquez). Completing his
apprenticeship, he stayed on there a number of years. In 1976, Antonio
Reinosa Velaquez and Rafael decided to open their own workshop. A good
number of luthiers, who have gone on to become magnificant makers in their
own right passed through their workshop: Antonio Raya, Bernd Martin, Juan
Miguel Carmona, and Eduardo Santiago Duran Ferrer. After some years, Rafael
decided to go out on his own, and to work alone. Rafael isn't given to talk
about the world of the guitar, he prefers that his guitars speak for
themselves. And they do, he has sold guitars through out Europe, America,
and Japan. He produces between 15 and 20 guitars a year. He only builds
guitars of the highest quality, made with the finest woods available,
anything else he feels would be a waste of his time. Rafael is one of a
handful of luthiers to whom Luis F. Leal Pinar devotes a full chapter in his
book, Guitarreros de Andalucia: Artistas para la Sononta (2004). |