The Royal Family of the Guitar

The Romero family is known as the Royal Family of the Guitar.

They are all virtuosic classical guitarists.

In the video below, Pepe Romero plays Recuerdos de la Alhambra (memories of the Alhambra).

The Alhambra (literally means 'the red one' in Arabic), is a palace/fortress built in the 14th century by Moorish rulers. It is located in Granada, Spain. Recuerdos de la Alhambra, is a piece written by Francisco Tárrega- my favorite guitar composer.

Some day I'm going to Spain, and when I do I am going to see the Alhambra. I'm also going to learn Recuerdos de la Alhambra, it is one of my favorite pieces.

I found out today that Pepe Romero is a classical guitar professor at USC. So is Scott Tennant, a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. I first saw the LAGQ when I began taking classical guitar lessons- they came to Salt Lake and played with the Utah Symphony. He also wrote this book:

I totally own it. Everyone owns this book.

USC has a FABULOUS classical guitar program. I'm pretty sure I want to go to USC. They came back and offered me a 1,000 dollar gift card to the bookstore (hello, new computer). They also have a really good program for what I want to study. But then there's the University of Utah...they're going to give me a good deal and they have a good program too.

Anyone watching American Idol? I like Didi, but I am so sick of her crying and tearing up. It's getting old.

You know what else is getting old? Kara DioGuardi. I'm kinda sick of listening to her too.

Time for a new show, or at least time to cut TV out of my life and do some homework.

Antigua Casa Nuñez

The first thing we did after arriving in Buenos Aires and checking into the hostel was take a walk up calle (street) Sarmiento to the guitar shop Antigua Casa Nuñez. I nagged and nagged Amanda to go to Buenos Aires because I wanted a guitar; even though we are going to be here 3 months we HAD to go to Buenos Aires within the first few weeks. Before coming to Argentina I had researched this guitar shop- it was established in 1870 and has made classical guitars for famous guitarists such as Andres Segovia. I KNEW that if I was going to get a guitar in Argentina, it was going to be from this shop...

Below is a signed picture of Segovia playing on one of the the shop's guitars; it was hanging on the wall along with many other framed autographs of famous guitarists of Argentina. Segovia is one of the most famous classical guitarists; he was an amazing player, teacher, and he edited/transcribed a lot of music for the classical guitar.

I told Carlos (the guy in the background) that I already had a cedar guitar and would like to try a spruce guitar.

I played many guitars. One of the most expensive spruce guitars was brought to me the first day and I played it; I thought it was the one I was going to buy. After returning to the hostel for the night I emailed Larry Green (my guitar professor at BYU) and asked for any tips or advice about buying another guitar. I'm glad I contacted him because he mentioned that there can be major problems when buying a guitar in a humid climate and then taking it back the always dry Utah. Another person in my ensemble bought a guitar in South America and the body cracked when he took it back to Utah; Larry helped me contact a luthier in Utah who has made guitars for him and others at BYU so I could ask about the humidity problem.

I wanted to to find a cheaper guitar because I would be devastated if the nicest one cracked when I took it home. The cheaper guitars just weren't doing anything for me.... Carlos handed me another guitar that was hand made by the same luthier- Bartello- and I started to play. The stain on the guitar was really dark- dark enough to look like a cedar guitar. After I had "the moment" when you discover that this is the guitar, I asked how much it was (thinking it was one of the cheaper ones) and it turned out to be about 1500 pesos more than I thought. It was cheaper and not as nicely made (there are a few nails- nicer guitars are entirely glued) but it was more enjoyable to play and it sounded nicer than the expensive guitar.

I've had teachers explain that everyone who plays an instrument will have times when they don't make mistakes, the tone sounds wonderful, the dynamics and expression are working out, and you connect with the music. You just have "a moment," and these "moments" are the reason you struggle through the times when your sound sucks and you don't feel like practicing. Well, I had "a moment" with this guitar (below) and none of the others- that's when I knew it was the one...

To make a long story short, I bought the guitar (pictured above) and have worked out the humidity problem. It sounds nice and the deluxe, fancy case was thrown in for free- un regalo (gift). I spent more than I intended but I figured that I would have this guitar for years to come so why buy a piece of crap instead of the one I really wanted? I went back to the shop three times and planned my whole weekend around when the shop was open and when I should buy the guitar (because I didn't want to keep it in the hostel, yuck!). *speaking of hostels, they are okay for cheapo students like me (honestly it sucked), but when I'm rich and established some day, it's going to be nothing but the J Dubya Marriott. P.S. I don't consider the "hostel" in Cordoba a hostel... it's more of a really nice apartment.

Carlos charging my purchase (I have to believe they don't sell 3,000 peso guitars everyday and that he made a nice commission). I figure if anyone really, really wants to know how much I spent, they can google the conversion rate.

I didn't realize the guy taking the picture didn't actually get the guitar in the picture. Oh well, you can see the neck and some of the photos and guitars in the background.

I may upload video some other time so you can hear how it sounds.

"It's Only Monopoly Money"

Argentine pesos are so much easier to spend than US dollars. Pesos are still so foreign looking to us, it feels like we are spending Monopoly money.

Purse Vendor: "It's 110 pesos..."
Malaina: "OK! I'll take it!"

See... spending money here is "easy as pie." (name that movie!) But seriously, I'm blowing through cash faster than I can "pass go and collect my $200."

Today we kind of slept in. I got up and booked it to the guitar shop; I've been emailing my guitar teacher at BYU and he's made me aware that there could be a problem bringing a guitar from a humid climate to a dry climate. A friend in ensemble bought a guitar in South America and it started to dry out and crack when he brought it back to Utah; I don't know how diligent he was with putting a humidifier attachment in with the guitar when it was in the case. I found another guitar that is cheaper and that I like a lot more than the more expensive one I tried yesterday. I'm emailing a guitar luthier/friend of my teacher and asking him about the whole humidity/climate deal; I hope he gets back to me before Monday and tells me what I want to hear (i.e. climate will be no problem... have a fabulous time buying the guitar).

Amanda and I ate lunch at a parilla; I just got a piece of chicken but Amanda got a whole side of beef (ok not really but there was a lot). We ventured on the bus and made our way to the neighborhood Recoleta- it's home to the famous Recoleta cemetery where famous people like Eva Peron are buried.

There was a fabulous market/fair outside the cemetary.

We got a tinsy bit side tracked and by the time we got to the cemetary entrance they were kicking people out because it was closed. Ok so we are totally lame for getting there too late; we will go back and see the cemetary before leaving Buenos Aires. Tomorrow we get up EARLY! We are going to a Football game tomorrow and we need to see La Boca and San Telmo tomorrow.

We were walking down the street and found a classical guitarist playing with an amp... I had to stop and listen. He was really good... his technique looked good; I wasn't awed or anything but it was really nice to listen to.

We went to a dinner/tango show at a theater that was litterally one block from our hostel (we are so close to everything, it really is a fantastic location).

You can see part of the theater in the background...

We were both awed by the dancing...

The video below is only a small fraction of what we saw...

Amanda and I had to be the youngest ones in the theater. It was expensive but we both decided that we couldn't leave Buenos Aires without having gone to a tango show.

La Guitarra Clasica

We found a bunch of ancient film the other day and had it developed.  This picture was taken in 2003- I was 13 or 14 when this recital took place; at this time I had probably been playing for about 5 years.   Brady and I began taking lessons at nearly the same time; our first teacher was Norma McNamara and she was the ultimate perfectionist.

Sometimes her perfectionism would drive me crazy because she'd drill certain things over and over and over again- I spent the first two months of lessons learning how to carry the guitar, walk to my chair, and sit in the correct position.  Last semester Brady and I played in the BYU classical guitar ensemble (he is majoring in music and is way good... probably the best guitarist at BYU)- we both owe Norma a HUGE thanks for demanding we learn everything correctly.  

When I heard some of the other guitar majors play in ensemble, I completely cringed! I am a biology major/music minor that practices a tiny-smidgen-of-a fraction of what the majors do, and have way better technique than some of them (not to toot my own horn). Technique in classical guitar- in any instrument- is vital.  The guitar majors may be able to play 20 min sonatas by big-whig composers, but what good is it if they don't sound good? 

I am not taking my guitar with me to Argentina...

Because I plan to buy another one!!!

There is a classical guitar shop in Buenos Aires that has been around since the late 1800s- I've heard that they made two guitars for Andres Segovia that he played on his Latin American tour (he's pretty much the father of classical guitar).  The guitar I'm playing in the picture above is the one I have to this day- it's a cedar guitar- I love this guitar and would die if I had to sell it. Though I love this guitar, I think it's time to buy a spruce guitar; spruce guitars have different sound qualities than cedar.  More on my next guitar purchase later...