I was born in 1983 outside of Baltimore. My mother is from Michigan and my father, from the Philippines, hence the Spanish name. I came to the guitar initially as a player. I studied formally with Michael Nicolella, Jean-Pierre Billet and Sergio Assad and then also played popular music with friends and bands over the years. I built my first guitar when I was fifteen years old with the now renowned pickup maker Jason Lollar. After many years of studying guitar and playing music, I became interested in guitar building again and quickly committed myself entirely to it.

I studied with Rick Davis and Cat Fox at the Sound Guitar Workshop and then eventually and probably most importantly to my development as a maker of classical guitars, I studied with Robert Ruck. For many years after that, I shared a shop in West Seattle with a good friend and guitar builder David Myka. During this time, I also worked and taught at the Rosewood Guitar Shop and was able to study many of the guitars that came through its doors. I was also lucky enough to have access to the private collection that included some rare and rather sought-after historical instruments. In 2016, I moved myself and my workshop to Graz, Austria, which is where I have happily been ever since. I use a mix of the traditional Spanish assembly methods and some modern techniques here and there. I am currently building my own concert model, which is my interpretation of an ideal traditional classical guitar as I imagine it should feel and sound, as well as a Robert Ruck model paying tribute to his legacy; this is a long term project that will be evolving over the coming years.

I owe a huge amount of thanks to all of the guitarists, luthiers, friends and family that have helped me over the years.