1973 Antonio Marín Montero & Manuel López Bellido CD/IN

This 1973 "Montero-Bellido" is a cedar and Indian rosewood classical guitar made in Granada, Spain, by Antonio Marín Montero and Manuel López Bellido, labeled "Montero – Bellido, Luthiers, Granada, España".

The Last Year of the Montero-Bellido Label

This guitar from 1973 was built in the final year these two makers produced instruments under the joint label "Montero-Bellido", and it is simply a joy to play. The setup and feel are almost flamenco, with low action and an easy neck, and yet the sound is deep, warm and rich – very classical in tone quality but with the punch and immediacy of flamenco. In fact, it appears that a previous owner used this guitar for flamenco, as there remains a faint outline of a golpeador in the finish on the top (golpeador now removed).

Classical or Flamenco? The Granada Style

It could almost be regarded as a lightweight, ultra-responsive classical, or as a rich, classical-sounding flamenco! It also exhibits the classic understated aesthetic and efficiency of build (both internally and externally) that has come to define the Granada style, even to this day.

Orfeo Magazine #8 - The Granada School

Antonio Marín Montero and Manuel López Bellido: Founders of the Granada School

Antonio Marín Montero and Manuel López Bellido are arguably regarded as the two leading founders of the current "Granada school". What is not so well known, however, is that these two builders initially set up shop together and began their foray into full-time professional lutherie as partners in 1960, building instruments at first under various "house" brand names, but eventually producing guitars under their individual names as well as jointly under "Montero-Bellido", similar to Hernández y Aguado in Madrid.

Apprentices and Famous Players

During the years when these two makers were working together, a generation of younger makers passed through their doors as apprentices, including the likes of Rafael Moreno Rodríguez, José López Bellido, Paco Santiago Marín, Juan Miguel Carmona and even José Marín Plazuelo – all household names in today's Granada scene. The guitars being built out of their shop became highly regarded and attracted the attention and patronage of such guitarists as Regino Sainz de la Maza, Sabicas, Paco de Lucía and Diego del Gastor, among others.