I am returning to Buenos Aires with two very special concerts in which I will pay tribute to the rich guitar tradition of Buenos Aires in the 19th and early 20th centuries. On Sunday, November 30, at 6 p.m., at the Usina del Arte, I will present Dos guitarras payadoras (Two Payadora Guitars) with Tata Cedrón. And on Monday, December 1, at 7 p.m., at the Auditorio Artes Musicales of the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (Av. Córdoba 2445, CABA), I will offer my thesis concert Las Sextas lecciones de guitarra, dedicated to a monumental work by Julio S. Sagreras, one of the great references in Argentine guitar pedagogy.

With this thesis concert, which I performed under the tutelage of Jorge Biscardi, I conclude my Bachelor’s Degree in Music at the UNA. On the other hand, the concert with Tata Cedrón is part of the most important exhibition of Author Instruments in the country, which for 25 years has brought together luthiers and musical equipment manufacturers, and which will take place at the Usina del Arte from November 28 to 30. There, I will present a new guitar model that I designed, inspired by an Argentine guitar from 1911.

Both activities will be free and open to the public, until each venue reaches capacity.

About Two Payadora Guitars

My passion for Argentine folk music, classical guitar, and European Renaissance and Baroque music led me, during a tour of Switzerland, to come into contact with historical instruments for the first time. There, luthier Luc Breton showed me a guitar built using 18th-century techniques.

That path led me to track down the old argentinean guitars, mostly built by the legendary Francisco Núñez workshop, talk to luthiers, travel, study ancient instruments, and finally build, together with luthier Flor Centurión and with the accompaniment of Breton, La Payadora, a guitar born of historical techniques but designed to express, with depth and strength, Argentine music. Today it is one of my favorite guitars among the many that make up my collection.

In this concert, I will share the history and sound of my Payadora, its construction secrets, and its unique voice. And to close, Juan Carlos “Tata” Cedrón will join me with his own Payadora, also built by Flor, completing this musical story with two guitars. A celebration of tradition, the search for beauty, and the beauty of handmade craftsmanship.

About Las sextas lecciones de guitarra

Julio S. Sagreras (1879–1942) created six books of progressive studies known as Las lecciones de guitarra. These pieces, the result of his enormous technical knowledge and musical sensitivity, trace an impeccable journey from the first strums of the first lesson to the “perpetual motion” that culminates in the sixth book.My concert focuses on “The Sixth Lessons,” a set of pieces that condenses the technical tradition of the 19th century while also advancing a new, deeply personal language. Each of the thirty lessons includes a dedication, and this intimate gesture by Sagreras reveals a map of the vibrant guitar world of early 20th-century Buenos Aires. The concert will also include works by some of the guitarists to whom Sagreras dedicated his studies.