Lucho Vergara, aged 60, is a world-class luthier, or instrument maker, from Cali. His tiples have won awards as the best in Colombia. He also builds guitars and other stringed instruments of the guitar family, such as the Puerto Rican cuatro, which differs from the Venezuelan instrument of the same name.

In addition to being an instrument maker, Vergara is a master musician, vocalist, and composer. He has raised the status of the tiple from a folk instrument to that of a solo concert instrument. His innovative work is also apparent in the creation of a composite instrument, which joins a tiple and guitar to form one body and two necks. This invention, which he calls a “tiplegui,” allows him to introduce his songs and accompany them without having to change instruments. Vergara dreams of making some 18 tiples of only Colombian woods, such as the purplish nazareno, and performing a concert using each of them.

In the past, Vergara’s wife, Doña Mery, had a garment-making business in Cali. When she moved her factory to Miami for greater security for buyers, Vergara moved his instrument workshop, as well. As a tribute to the United States, he has arranged “The Star-Spangled Banner” for solo tiple.

Lucho Vergara with his “tiplegui,” a composite tiple and guitar.
Photograph by Martha Ellen Davis.