Candelas Guitars

Custom Made Guitars
Opened 1928
Tarreon, Mexico
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA

Porfirio Delgado Flores (Pilo) and Candelario Delgado Flores (Candelas) were born in Tarreon, Mexico in the state of Cohahuila in the early 1900s. They sang together as “Los Hermanos Candelas” and in 1928 began the manufacture of their own instruments. Since most quality guitars came from Spain, they moved to Juarez in 1935 and opened a shop. During the years they operated the shop in Juarez, they made guitars for Mario Moreno “Cantinflas”, Miguel Aceves Mejia, Marcello Chavez, “TinTan”, Hermanos Villa, Los Hermanos Flores, Los Tres Cahelleros (who played in various Walt Disney films), Trio Urquiza, Pepe Gamboa (a custom three-neck guitar) and Eduardo Ruiz (who played lead for Desi Arnaz). As demand increased, the Bros began to ship their guitars to Los Angeles and in 1946 opened their first shop on Brooklyn Ave in Boyle Heights - where it still sits today. Over the years, the Candelas family has made fine instruments for a number of artists including: Theodore Bikel, Burl Ives, Laurindo Almeida, Vicente Gomez, William Clauson, Arlo Guthrie, Hoyt Axton, Jose Feliciano, Charo, Jose Barroso, Los Lobos, The Kingston Trio, The Christy Minstrels, Pepe Romero and the master himself, Andres Segovia. After 70 years of guitar making, their shop at 2716 Cesar Chavez Avenue (formerly Brooklyn Avenue) in Boyle Heights remains, as does the Candelas tradition of building fine custom made instruments.