“It took me quite some time to digest that I was being recognized for my work and commitment to community. So often, I am accustomed to highlighting the work of my family which I am very proud of, but for an organization in the Arts to see what I work towards every day for the community and my fellow neighbor, it has been an encouragement one does not expect to receive at this stage of their career.”
Manuel A Delgado
Photo by Scott Jackson
Custom "Monica" Delgado guitar, Photo by Deone Jahnke
Photo courtesy Manuel A Delgado
"Marta" model Delgado Guitar made for TN State Museum. Photo by Manuel A Delgado
Custom Delgado Vihuela, photo by Manuel A Delgado
Photo courtesy Manuel A Delgado
Photo by Michael Weintrob
of 7
Old-World Luthier
Manuel A. Delgado is a third generation, Old-World Luthier with instruments in;
The Fowler museum at UCLA, Two exhibits with the Smithsonian,The Tennessee State Museum, The Parthenon, and The Adventure Science Center.
He has been featured in Reading Rainbow, Tennessee Crossroads, Streets of Dreams,UPS, National League of Cities, UPS, Google, VISA, Monday Night Football and BOSE. Delgado helped Pixar in the movie “Coco”, assisted in Desperado and The Three Amigos. Distinguished as an “Honorary Maker” by Makers Mark and a “Takumi” craftsman by Lexus. Manuel designed/built “The Unity Guitar” and raised over $35,000 for undocumented victims of 9/11, and was awarded “Local Hero of the Year” in 2002, a certificate of appreciation from the City of Los Angeles and the City of New York. “The East Nashvillian” in 2019. Manuel and his daughters were featured in Super Bowl LVII with Google and they’re invited to the Smithsonian Folk Festival in Washington D.C. 4th of July week. Manuel served for Metro Nashville Arts. Multiple Boards and currently serves ArtsEdTN and Leadership Music. Manuel has helped improve hiring practices for MNPD and worked with “NEA”. Manuel’s work with schools around the U.S. to grow/create music programs. In 2019, Manuel opened “The Music Makers Stage”, a LIVE music venue crested for community and musicians to perform. Manuel served in relief for 2010 flood and 2020 tornado and during the pandemic, Manuel, his wife Julie and daughters, Ava & Lila, created “Live from the Music Makers Stage”
What does the Taproot Fellowship mean to you and how will it affect your practice?
It truly means a great deal to me to be nominated for such a prestigious Fellowship. It took me quite some time to digest that I was being recognized for my work and commitment to community. So often, I am accustomed to highlighting the work of my family which I am very proud of, but for an organization in the Arts to see what I work towards every day for the community and my fellow neighbor, it has been an encouragement one does not expect to receive at this stage of their career.
Meet more of our Fellows
See All
Delores Taitano Quinata
Bilembaotuyan Maker & Player
Hagatna, Guam
Lydia “Louise” Goings (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Cherokee Basket Maker
Birdtown Community on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, NC)
David Comingdeer (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)
Cherokee Ball Stick Maker
Flint District of the Cherokee Nation (Stilwell, OK)
TJ Sgwaayaans Young (Kaigani Haida)
Haida Wood Carver
Hydaburg, AK
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo
Vietnamese Traditional Musician & Composer
El Cerrito, CA
Reba Jo Teran (Eastern Shoshone)
Traditional Shoshone Saddle Maker & Bead Worker
Fort Washakie, WY
Raymond Wong
Traditional Chinese Lion Dancer & Martial Artist
Chinatown, Washington, DC
Ramón Rivera
Mariachi Musician & Educator
Mount Vernon, WA
Omar Santiago Fuentes
Puerto Rican Troubadour, Improviser of Verse & Décimas
Hatillo, Puerto Rico
Manuel A Delgado
Old-World Luthier
Nashville, TN
Lani Strong Hotch (Chilkat-Tlingit)
Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaver & Textile Artist
Klukwan, AK
Kewulay Kamara
Mandeng Finah Poet & Storyteller
Jackson Heights, NY
Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker
Stevens Point, WI
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Ethno-Singer & Folklorist
Portland, OR
Hamid Al-Saadi
Iraqi Maqam Vocalist
Brooklyn, NY
Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk)
Indigenous Chef
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Dena Jennings
Affrolachian Musician & Culture Bearer
Nasons, VA
Chum Ngek
Cambodian Musician & Ritual Artist
Gaithersburg, MD
Billy Branch
Blues Musician
Chicago, IL
Chef BJ Dennis
Gullah Geechee Chef & Cultural Bearer
Charleston, SC
Brett Ratliff
Traditional Appalachian Musician
Stamping Ground, KY
Bruce Bradley
Tap Dancer
Flint, MI
Annetta Koruh (Hopi)
Hopi Weaver
Village Bacavi, Third Mesa-Hopi land, Arizona (Bacavi, AZ)
Alejandro López
Chicano Muralist
Santa Cruz, NM
Wayne Henderson
Appalachian Luthier & Musician
Mouth of Wilson, VA
Willard John
Moko Jumbie Stilt Dancer
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Veronica Castillo
Mexican Polychromatic Ceramicist
San Antonio, TX
Theresa Secord
Penobscot Basketmaker
Farmington, ME
Stan Rodriguez
Kumeyaay Culture Bearer
Santa Ysabel, CA
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto
Japanese Koto Musician
Oakland, CA
Shaka Zulu
New Orleans Black Masking craftsman & stiltdancer
New Orleans, LA
Sami Abu Shumays
Arab Musician
Queens, New York, NY
Roy & PJ Hirabayashi
Japanese American Taiko Musicians
San Jose, CA
Pedro Adorno Irizarry
Puerto Rican theater artist and director
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens
Chicana Altaristas
East Los Angeles, CA
Meklit Hadero
Ethio-Jazz Vocalist & Composer
San Francisco, CA
King Khazm
Hip Hop Artist
Seattle, WA
Juan Longoria, Jr.
Conjunto Accordionist & Educator
Los Fresnos, TX
Jontavious Willis
Blues Musician
Luthersville, GA
Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes
Afro-Puerto Rican Musician & Folklorist
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Iris Brown
Puerto Rican Foodways & Agriculture
Philadelphia, PA
Gertie Lopez
Tohono O'odham Waila Musician
Tucson, AZ
Eva Ybarra
Conjunto Accordionist & Bandleader
San Antonio, TX
Dr. Dwayne Tomah
Passamaquoddy Language Keeper
Edmunds, ME
Deborah Gourneau
Anishinaabe (Chippewa) Culture Bearer
Belcourt, ND
Dani Pikolakitisaata Tippmann
Miami Plant Tradition-Bearer
Myaamionki (Fort Wayne, IN)
Bill Harris
Catawba Master Potter
McConnells, SC
Carolyn Mazloomi
Quiltmaker
West Chester, OH
Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe
Jingle Dress Maker, Cultural Artist
Chiminising, Misizaagaiganing (Isle, MN)
Anwan “Big G” Glover
Go-Go Music Pioneer
Washington D.C.