1 mins
MY SPACE
ALL PHOTOS DAMIÁN STOPPANI
LUTHIER
DAMIÁN STOPPANI
CURRENT LOCATION Argentina
For the past five years my workshop has been a_1970 Mercedes-Benz bus. In it, I’ve travelled the length of the Americas, making and repairing stringed instruments as I go. I started in Argentina, fixing violins for El Sistema orchestras and showing the young players how I work, in exchange for whatever the orchestra could pay - and sometimes I’d accept food or diesel instead.Then I started travelling further: Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, the US and Canada in that order. After making it to Alaska, I turned around and now I’m back in Mexico. My plan was to put the bus on a ship at Veracruz and continue on to Europe, but Covid-19 thwarted that plan.
While on the road I’ve made six violins, a viola, a cello and two guitars. Not too many, because I’ve been so busy restoring instruments and doing set-ups; but I’ve learnt so much about lutherie in the past five years. I’ve been lucky enough to visit the workshops of some of the world’s best makers during my travels. I’ve also managed to sell all the instruments I’ve built to musicians in America, Europe and Asia; I’m currently making two more violins. . is, along with my restoration work, allows me to keep moving.
In every country, I’ve been involved with social projects as well as professional orchestras. I’ll contact them before I arrive, and then stay for as_long as I have work to keep me there. I’ve found that orchestral musicians are so unfamiliar with basic technical issues, I’ll give them the same presentations on_maintenance that I give the children!
My workshop is not all that big but I feel comfortable working there. I can’t imagine myself staying in one place: the world is so big, cultures are so broad, and making violins and travelling are equally addictive.•