GUAGUA BIDS TO BE GUITAR CENTER
Guagua, Pampanga, Feb. 6, 1998 - Guitars and ukeleles are two of the favorite souvenirs of local and foreign tourists, many of whom are discovering that they do not have to go all the way to Cebu to get good quality musical instruments.
Barangay San Antonio, Guagua, has five stores selling guitars, ukeleles, banduria and octavinas, all products of a factory owned by one family, the Lumanog clan.
Dante Lumanog, who was an overseas worker for 14 years, has just opened the fifth store. To date, there are already two in Angeles City in addition to the five in Guagua.
All the instruments are made by hand in a factory that employs 30 workers. The output is distributed nationwide, to tourist shops and music stores in major cities.
"My grandfather started making guitars during the Japanese occupation, peddling them from town to town on foot. His children learned the craft and carried on the tradition," Lumanog said.
He added that contrary to widespread belief, guitar-making originated in Pampanga and not Cebu. "You can find the Lumanog family name in Cebu," he explained.
In his grandfather's time, a number of trained workers migrated from Pampanga to Cebu, where the art of guitar-making is now a big industry.
© Copyright, 1998
All rights reserved