Manuel Cáceres
Manuel Caceres Pizarro is one of the leading representatives of the Madrid school. Born in 1947 in Camillo de Llerena, a small working town near the Rio Guadamez, when he was about thirteen, his family moved to Madrid. A few days later, he found work as an apprentice in the Ramirez workshop. After a brief time, however, his family moved to Germany. Unhappy there, Manuel returned to Spain and work as a farm worker with his brother. He soon found this work monotonous, and decided to return to Madrid where he again found work in the Ramirez shop, assisting Pedro Manzanero and Ramon Penalver in the repair department. In 1964, he was transferred to the construction department, and spent four years there before he had to do his military service. After doing his stint in the army, Manuel returned to the Ramirez shop and was soon promoted to master craftsman. He continued to work for Ramirez until 1978, when he decided to go out on his own. The guitars he made in Ramirez bear the initials MC. In the years since, Manuel work has been recognized not only by international awards but also by increasing numbers of professionals who have bought his instruments such as Paco Pena, Los Panchos, Manolo Sanlucar, Paco de Lucia. He has also given master workshops on guitar making in Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. In recent years, he has divided his time between working in his own shop and working with Arcangel Fernandez.
Main page
History
