The guitar beginnings in Casasimaro are known since 1744, year in which Alfonso Anselmo Alarcón was born. He started the Alarcón saga part of which was his son Juan de Mata Alarcón Briones (1824 – 1885) fourth and last generation of the Alarcón and the one who trained into guitar making, Blas Carrillo Alarcón (1836 – 1919), also known as with the nick name “Abuelo Moreno” (the dark haired grandfather). He was the first guitar maker in Casasimarro who’s popularity transcended the limits of the city.

Blas Carrillo Alarcón initiated another important saga: the Carrillo family, whose second link was Vicente Carrillo López (1881 – 1962). He was able to improve upon his predecessor’s techniques and added a distinctive quality to his guitars.

His son, Vicente Carrillo Cantos (1926 – 1970) earns the popularity as the great guitar maker from Cuenca, obtaining for his hometown, Casasimarro, the name of “El Pueblo de las Guitarras” (the Town of the Guitars). After his passing, his wife, Gabriela Casas Fornier, is able to maintain the Carrillo prestige intact until their son, Vicente Carrillo Casas, takes the lead in the family’s business.

Today, Vicente Carrillo Casas is making Classical and Flamenco guitars, Laudes, Bandurrias, Contralto and Laudones with the purest artisan traditions handed down in his family and by being open to learning from other guitar-making lineage of yesteryears.