2026 Paul Aguilera "Flamenca Blanca" w/pegs SP/CY

This 2026 Paul Aguilera "Flamenca Blanca" is a traditional flamenco guitar with pegs, an Italian spruce top and cypress back and sides, made by hand in San Esteban, Córdoba, Argentina – and it is THE actual guitar that won 3rd Prize in the flamenco category at the IX Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Making Competition in Granada, Spain (2026).

Local and Recycled Woods from Argentina

Built by English luthier Paul Aguilera (who now for many years has lived and worked in Argentina), this guitar was made with some fascinating materials – Italian red spruce for the soundboard (from the Val di Fiemme, which Paul feels is a good choice for a flamenco guitar) combined with locally sourced cypress and recycled cedar from old doors used for the neck, back braces, linings and back reinforcement, as well as other recycled elements such as the neck spline using Guayacan (an extremely hard wood from northern Argentina) made from an old deck, and top bracing sourced from old pianos. We are thrilled to have this guitar here!

Cypress from an Old Colonial Estate

The cypress tree this guitar is made from fell in a storm 20 years ago in the grounds of an old Spanish Colonial estate turned "alfajor" factory (a typical Argentinian biscuit) just minutes from Paul's home, and lay unprocessed for several years. He bought several large logs from a local sawmill and has since dried and processed this wood – the climate where Paul lives being ideal for drying wood. The bridge, headstock veneer and bindings are all made using CSA rosewood and the ebony fingerboard is a uniform dark black, perfectly quartered and straight grained. Mechanical pegs complete the traditional look while also reducing weight.

Andalusian Looks, Madrid-School Bracing

Aesthetically, this guitar has a very Andalucian look and feel, featuring simple lines and a back without purflings for a very traditional old-school style instrument, with the lemon shellac adding warmth to give it an almost "vintage" look. The top bracing however is inspired more by the Madrid school of making, based on Faustino Conde and repeated by many others, with five evenly spaced parallel braces and an angled outer one on either side with no cross brace. The rosette is made up of a central motif based on a traditional "Guarda Criolla" or "Guarda Pampa" – a design often found on ponchos, belts and scarves worn by gauchos. The design also includes a dark green half-herringbone (dyed by Paul himself) and white, and a fine square banding which is repeated in the purfling on the top; the rest is made up of black and white 0.3 & 0.5 mm sycamore veneers.

Sound and Playability: "Flamenco Puro"

For playability, this is a lightweight guitar with lightning-fast response that virtually plays itself under the fingers. It has plenty of "pulsation" – that almost supernatural effect of feeling the vibration transmitted from the guitar into the body of the player that is a hallmark quality found in the great mid-century flamencos of the twentieth century. It is "flamenco puro" all the way, with a raspy, loose, warm and punchy sound that is typically found in older vintage guitars, which is remarkable given that it is brand-new.

Overall a strikingly beautiful guitar (note the fine carvings in the headshape – worth mentioning!) both aesthetically and sonically, with several unique features and details taken from his local area. Highly creative and perfectly executed – very pleased to now be working with this fine builder!

Paul Aguilera: English Guitar Maker in Argentina

Paul Aguilera is an English flamenco and classical guitar maker who has lived and worked in Argentina since 2013. His workshop stands in the woods at the foot of the Sierras de Córdoba, near the town of San Esteban, where he saws, dries and processes much of his own cypress. He trained in England with Stephen Hill and at London Guildhall University, and in 2026 won third prize for flamenco guitar in Granada.

Training in England

From Paul Aguilera:

I started learning to make guitars in the early 90's with Maestro Stephen Hill when he was still building guitars in Lewes, England. I was a gigging musician looking to build my own Flamenco guitar for playing with. Stephen was running his evening class and I made a lovely cypress flamenco guitar based around a Ramírez style plantilla. This experience opened up a new world for me and I decided to study guitar making more seriously, and so I enrolled on the Musical Instrument Technology degree course at the old London School of Furniture, part of the London Guildhall University in East London. On this course I met the Spanish maker Mario Aracama. The English guitar maker David Whiteman was the teacher at the school and he tutored me for the 3 years I spent there. After completing my first year I was given permission to do all my building work during my 2nd & 3rd year in Stephen Hill's workshop, which helped me to start to fine tune my woodworking skills. As well as studying modern stringed instruments I also spent a year in the woodwind department learning to turn and make woodwinds. I completed the course and was awarded a BSc in Musical Instrument Technology with distinction. I was then awarded a scholarship by the British Academy to study a Masters degree at the London School of Oriental & African Studies, where I focused on Turkish and Middle Eastern music as well as a minor in African music and culture.

A Workshop in the Sierras de Córdoba

After completing my studies I opened my first workshop in Brighton, England, where I also had a guitar shop selling all types of acoustic, classical and flamenco guitars. I moved to San Esteban, Córdoba, Argentina in 2013 with my wife and 3 kids, and I built my workshop in our woods at the foot of the Sierras de Córdoba. I am lucky to own a large old bandsaw with a 3ft wheel and so I can process logs with ease; much of my cypress is sourced and processed this way. In 2019 I won first prize in the triennial instrument makers competition in Tucumán, Argentina, organized by the Escuela de Luthería de Tucumán, part of Tucumán State University. I also co-organise, along with San Esteban Council, a yearly Guitar and Luthery festival called the Festival del Guitarrero.

Prize Winner in Granada

After several years of being immersed in guitar construction, Paul Aguilera was awarded third prize for his flamenco guitar at the prestigious ninth Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Making Competition held in Granada, Spain in July/August, 2026.