2015 Francisco Barba SP/CY

A 2015 flamenco blanca by Francisco Barba, with a spruce top and cypress back and sides, built in Seville – with the rose rosette, and previously owned by Luis Mariano of Granada.

The Barba Rose Rosette

This blanca is a real eye-catcher. The rosette alternates red and green, with a central mosaic of red roses on green stems and leaves, and the same red and green appear in the tie-block, the purflings of the back and sides and even the layers of the head veneer, all set off by the bold, unmistakable Barba headstock.

Sound and Playability

Its voice is fat and balanced, with plenty of punch, volume and flamenco edge – powerful and lively in every way. The neck is easy and sleek, with low action and a touch of authentic flamenco "sizzle".

Ex Luis Mariano, Granada

We acquired this guitar from Luis Mariano of Granada, one of the top players in the region. Although second-hand, it is in excellent condition, with only some very minor playing wear in the finish – a guitar that has been broken in beautifully, by one of Spain's living legends of flamenco guitar making.

Read more: Orfeo Magazine No. 25 – Flamenco: Origins of the Flamenco Guitar (with a feature on Francisco Barba and his sons)

Francisco Barba: Master Flamenco Guitar Maker of Seville

Francisco Barba (b. 1939) is the best-known guitar maker in Seville and one of the most respected builders of flamenco guitars in all of Spain, of the same generation as Manuel Reyes and Gerundino Fernández. A Sevillian through and through, he started woodworking at fourteen in his father's carpentry shop and built his first guitar at eighteen, teaching himself as he went. With no teacher and none of the special tools of the trade, he worked out his own methods from scratch – which is why a Barba is built like no other guitar – and he has spent his whole working life in his workshop on Calle Arroyo, in the heart of Seville.

Francisco Barba and His Sons: Guitars Made by Six Hands

For more than thirty years Francisco has built his guitars together with his sons, Francisco (Paco) and Juan Antonio Barba. The three share every stage of the work rather than specializing, choose their woods with the same ear and voice each guitar together at the end – so although the label reads "Francisco Barba", every guitar from the shop is the work of all three. Barba guitars have been the instruments of many of Andalucía's finest flamenco players, among them Rafael Riqueni, Manolo Franco, Niño de Pura, Pedro Peña, Manuel Molina and Quique Paredes, and the family was featured in Orfeo Magazine No. 25 in 2025.