For the Community and the World

Candelas Guitars is a local family-owned guitar shop on César Chávez Avenue in the heart of Boyle Heights. The Candelas family, led by Tomás Delgado, have continued the legacy of Candelario Delgado and Porfirio Delgado, who founded Candelas in 1947 with the vision to provide high-quality guitars “to as many people as humanly possible without losing quality.”

Their vision, rooted in the Boyle Heights community, has expanded across the world. As Delgado expresses, “I was honored and blessed that a client of mine, Adam del Monte, once told me, ‘In a good way Tomas, I can't believe all these years I grew up in Europe and bought all my guitars in Europe, and I ended up in Boyle Heights buying Flamenco guitars.” As indicated in the quote by del Monte, a famed Flamenco guitarist, it is the deep dedication and attention to detail that Mr. Delgado places on his guitars that make them irreplaceable. This fine artisan labor done in Boyle Heights cannot be replicated, perhaps not even in the cities of Spain, the capital of Flamenco itself. 

Mr. Delgado’s passion for making guitars has also allowed him to work with iconic performers that have played a critical role in the development of music, especially among young Mexican musicians. Most notably, Mr. Delgado has a close relationship with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees, Los Lobos, famous for their version of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba.” Other artists to walk through the doors of Candelas include Gilberto Puente, Pepe Romero, Andres Segovia, and Jackson Brown. 

Aside from providing his talents to community members and iconic performers from all over the world, Tomás Delgado has made it his mission to provide a high level of instruction to folks in the Boyle Heights community who are musically inclined. Mr. Delgado, who grew up in Boyle Heights, has provided a haven for youth in the community to creatively express themselves. As a commitment to his community, he has also founded Candelas Music and Arts Foundation to help low-income residents of Boyle Heights to obtain free guitar lessons in order to make his musicianship accessible to all. Having studied with decorated Luthier, Jose Ramirez IV in Paris, Delgado understands that having the opportunity to travel overseas to receive a high level of instruction is not something that is readily afforded to everyone. As such, Delgado has been committed to sharing his knowledge and talent with the community of Boyle Heights. Mr. Delgado’s commitment to providing community members with his specialized and generational knowledge on guitars is something that is very important to him. Mr. Delgado even expressed working around the clock in order to be able to provide every individual-- whether they are from Boyle Heights or from Spain-- with his expertise on guitars.

Candelas Guitars is a clear testament to the talent that is ever-present in Boyle Heights.  When asked about why he continues to reside in Boyle Heights despite his heightened success, Mr. Delgado mentioned the following: “ ...my neighbors in the backyard, they have known me since I was 13 years old now. I feel like I am at home here. This is my home.” One thing is for certain: “There is no other Candelas in the world.” What was originally supposed to be only a week of filling in for his father and completing minimal tasks around the shop turned into a lifetime of creating peoples’ dream guitars and restoring their damaged ones? Most importantly, Mr. Delgado recognizes that his creations and impact will live on after him just as his grandfather and father’s creations live on as their legacy. Today, you can find Mr. Delgado in the back of the shop entrusting this generational knowledge to his son Tomas and daughter Sofia, who like him grew up within the walls of Candelas. Regardless of what career path his children embark on, Tomas knows that through Candelas, the Delgado family will continue to be a symbol of hard work, quality, and cultural pride in the Boyle Heights community.