López Arribas, Sarah. “Entrevista a Ana Espinosa (Constructora de Guitarras)”.  guitarra.artelinkado.com.  December 19, 2008.

Where are you from?

I was born in Tíjola, Almeria.

Is this where you discovered your vocation?

No, I was much more behind schedule!

To what had you dedicated yourself before guitars?

I studied history. And I have always liked crafts very much.  In Granada I learned traditional weaving in the shop of Nicolás Casares (that no longer exists by the way).  I worked for 10 years making artistic carpets and weaves until I began to make guitars.

How did you discover that your calling was guitar construction?

I am married to René Baarslag, and his workshop was always a temptation for me.  I decided to try making a guitar, and since then I have not stopped.

Then your beginning was with René?

         Yes, in my house with him.

You remember that first guitar?

I saved it.

Then, it is possible to say that your teacher has been René?

Yes, although Alejandro Van der Horst also helped me in the principles of my present model.

How many years have you been making guitars?

Thirteen.

It is possible to say that you are of the “Granada school”?

Not strictly in a generational sense.  But if one talks about working with the same methods, then yes.

Did you copy the Masters?

I began with Torres.  Later I changed my design, and I am modifying it according to the possibilities as I discover them.

How can your guitars be differentiated from those of Torres?

The bracing, the thicknesses, the measurements, the plantilla, and the mold.

Do you prefer to construct classical guitars or flamencos?

I like the two, although altogether I make more classical.

What type of wood do you use for your guitars?

It depends.  Cypress for flamenco back and sides and rosewood for classical.   Spruce or cedar for the top, ebony for the fretboard and cedar for the neck.  These are the normal materials unless somebody requests something different.

Do you think that the guitar can evolve more or has it arrived at its pinnacle?

It will be like everything, just as the musicians, the language, etc., evolve.  The guitar will evolve according to necessity.

Which guitar makers do you admire most?

I like different aspects from different guitar makers.

Is there much competition in the world of guitar makers?

There is mutual respect and admiration.  That is the reason we all get better.

How do you see the present panorama in the world of guitar construction?

I see it at a very good level.  In the last few years it has been raised significantly.

And what do you think of the organization of festivals like this?  (Referring to the exhibition of guitars at the Festival de la Guitarra en Huétor Vega, Granada, 2008).

Whenever the guitar maker’s life is more accessible to the public, all the better!

Is it difficult to be a woman in as masculine a world as is the one of guitar construction?

I have not had specific problems being a woman.

Have you sometimes endured discrimination for being a woman on the part of some guitarist or of your guitar maker companions?

Not that I know of.   My relations are good.

What does it feel like being the unique woman in the world of flamenco guitar construction?

For me the workshop is my daily work.  I am not a unique woman doing this.  There are going to be more.

Greenberg, James.  “Ana Espinosa Rodriguez”.  Tucson, Arizona, www.zavaletas-guitarras.com, 2008.

“Ana Espinosa Rodriguez is a Spanish luthier in Granada, and builds classical and flamenco guitars.  Born in Tíjola, Almeria, in 1960, from an early age she was exposed to woodcrafts, as her grandfather was a cabinet maker, and her parents worked in his workshop.  Attending university, she majored in geography and history.  After her B.A., she studied fine arts at the Escuela de Arte de Granada, becoming a weaver.  In 1989 she married René Baarslag, a Dutch guitar maker who came to Granada in 1977, and apprenticed with Antonio Marin Montero.  Ana began her apprenticeship with René in 1994.  Under his guidance, Ana has become an excellent luthier in her own right, and sells her guitars under her own name.  Her fine handmade classical guitars are patterned after those of Antonio Torres (1817-1892), the Spanish luthier whose instruments defined modern standards.  Although Ana Espinosa's concert guitars are small bodied instruments, they possess very good volume, a Torres type of sound, and serve beautifully for recording. Her classical instruments are simply enchanting; everyone who plays them is reluctant to put them down”.

Leal Pinar, Luis F.  Guitarreros de Andalucía.  Sevilla, Spain, Giralda, 2004.  P. 212.

“Espinosa Rodríguez, Ana María — Born in Tijola (Almería), July 11, 1960. Since she was a child she's been acquainted with wood, her maternal grandfather, Luis Rodríguez Domínguez, having had a cabinetry workshop where her parents Juan and Carolina worked, building and polishing furniture. She attended Daughters of Mercy High School, where she pursued Basic General Education and college preparatory studies; passing her entrance examination, she went on to University, where she received her bachelor's in Arts and Sciences, majoring in Geography and History, despite her desire to have pursued Fine Arts. In 1982, having turned 22, she established her own workshop in the Granada neighborhood La Bola de Oro, after having received intensive training from the weaver Nicolás Casares. The Granada School of Art hired her to teach courses in the Recovery of Native Culture, spanning the Alpujarras region. In 1989, she married the Dutch guitar-maker René Baarslag, spurring her to become one of a handful of Spanish women entirely dedicated to guitar-making, creating her own label. With her solid background in crafts, she confidently entered her husband's workshop, nevertheless taking advantage of his lessons in essential practical experience. Ana María Espinoza works at her own bench, apart from her husband René, and the numerous guitars made both in their workshop in the La Chaparra neighborhood in Lanjarón, and in their present workshop on the Media Luna farm also in the Alpujarra region, come numbered, dated and signed by herself. Typically, she uses seven harmonic bars plus two transverse bars.

"I am so in love with the guitar", she says, "that I wouldn't trade my job for any other", and asserts that "the guitar is a living instrument".

Her instruments mainly are sent to Barcelona, to the Casa Luthier shop. Some concert guitarists, like the German, Inge Tikale, prefer Ana María Espinoza's guitars for their performances.

Hurlong, Lisa.  “Ana Espinosa Rodríguez”.  Granada, Spain, www.lisadegranada.com, 2004.

“Ana is Rene's wife. She is originally a weaver and has recently come on the guitar scene bringing with her not only her expertise as an artisan but her sensitivity as a woman. Everyone seems to just like to play her guitars and doesn't want to put them down!!”.

Vega, Charles.  “Spanish Holiday”.  Acoustic Guitar.  Vol 14, No. 7 (Issue 133, January 2004).  Pp. 52-57.

“The dean of the Granada makers is Antonio Marin Montero, who has trained and assisted many of the younger builders.  Other well-regarded Granada makers include José Marin Plazuelo, Antonio Raya Pardo, Paco Santiago Marin, the Dutch-born René Baarslag, and his wife Ana Espinosa Rodriguez”.

Romanillos Vega, José L. and Marian Harris Winspear.  The Vihuela de Mano and the Spanish Guitar.  Guijosa, Spain, The Sanguino Press, 2002.  P. 110.

“Espinosa Rodríguez, Ana María (b. 1960). Ana María Espinosa Rodríguez was born in Tíjola, Almería, on 11 June 1960.  She began her apprenticeship in 1994 in Lanjarón, Granada, with René Baarslag.  She makes classical and flamenco guitars at Cortijo Media Luna (Cuatro Caminos), Lanjarón, Granada”.

Hill, Kenny.  “Visit to Legendary Granada”.  Felton, California, www.hillguitars.com, 2001.

“René Baarslag…came to Granada…from Holland, as a kid in pursuit of flamenco.  He wound up learning guitar-making by visiting Marin’s shop…He has taught this old-world craft to his wife Ana Espinosa, who is now working alongside making her own guitars.  Ana is one of the newest guitar makers of the Granada school, and becoming one of the best anywhere.  She is maybe the first woman in Spain to dedicate herself to this trade that is so overstocked with men, worldwide”.

White, Woodley.  “Prepare to Meet the Maker: René Baarslag”.  American Lutherie.  Number 49 (Spring 1997).  Pp. 6-9.

“My wife, Ana, started building about a year ago.  She started with a Torres model.  She got a guitar out of it.  People come in and say, 'I want one like hers'”.