Nineteen-year GAL member Mónica Esparza commutes easily between her two jobs: her family’s soft drink company and her guitar shop on the second floor of the same building. Besides being a passionate, intrepid traveler, she finds time for guitar lessons, long bike rides, and guitar shows and conventions.
▪ bio current as of 2022
2022
AL#146 p.64 read this article
Federico Sheppard Kevin Aram Josep Melo Mónica Esparza
▪ Romanillos was a towering figure in the lutherie field during a long and productive career as a maker and scholar. He was also a generous mentor and friend to many guitar makers. Four of those makers share fond memories of him here. Many more will miss him.
2021
AL#142 p.62
Monica Esparza
▪ A positive review of this elaborate, gorgeous, thorough, and expensive book by Josep Melo. Mentions Pepe Romero.
2018
AL#134 p.4
Monica Esparza
▪ There was a party in Spain when luthier, scholar, teacher, and author Jose Romanillos turned 85. Luthiers, musicians, dignitaries gathered to honor him. We get a close-up look through the eyes of his longtime admirer and student Monica Esparza.
2018
AL#134 p.9
Monica Esparza Josep Melo Stefano Grondona Antigoni Goni
▪ Two guitarists and a luthier tell their stories of working with Romanillos.
2014
AL#120 p.6
Monica Esparza Josep Melo
▪ Melo has been making guitars since the ’60s. In the ’90s he began to seek out and collaborate with the makers whose work he found the most inspiring. He published a gorgeous coffee-table book about it called Following the Masters. His deepest collaboration has been with fellow Spaniard Jose Romanillos. Ironically, they met at the 1995 GAL Convention in Tacoma.
2013
AL#115 p.68
Monica Esparza
▪ Creating a mosaic rosette from an original illustration.
2012
AL#110 p.65
Federico Sheppard Monica Esparza
▪ A 45 minute DVD of a 2010 workshop with early music specialist Jaume Bosser on constructing an authentic period Vihuela de Mano.
2011
AL#106 p.31 ALA5 p.93
Monica Esparza
▪ Esparza gives a glimpse of the intense experience of attending two week summer seminars in Spain under lutherie legend Jose Romanillos in 4 different years.
2011
AL#106 p.26 ALA5 p.88
Kathy Wingert Monica Esparza
▪ Monica Esparza entered lutherie later in life than most, and now divides her time building with her job as co-owner and operator of a soft drink company.