The Pimentel family would like the guitar, inlaid with New Mexico symbols such as zias, black bears and yuccas, to be dubbed the state’s official guitar.

B.B. King has Lucille.

Stevie Ray Vaughn had Number One.

Eric Clapton had Blackie.

And now New Mexico has a guitar it can call its own.

The guitar is called New Mexico Sunrise, and it’s the latest creation of Pimentel & Sons.

Meticulously garnished with coral zias, mother-of-pearl inlays and exotic wood, it is the first in a series of custom-built guitars paying homage to New Mexico culture and symbolism.

“This is one of the best-designed models we’ve come out with,” said master guitar maker Rick Pimentel. “It’s made from some of the finest materials in the world. It’s custombuilt and plays like a dream.”

The family has big plans for the Sunrise, which took 14 months to complete.

Pimentel said he would like to see the guitar recognized as New Mexico’s official guitar.

“We just think the guitar is a nice tribute,” said Pimentel. “For 55 years, we’ve represented New Mexico all over the world. And when my dad introduced his type classical guitars here, he brought a piece of the world into New Mexico.”

For more than half a century, Pimentel guitars have been praised for their tone, playability and construction. What makes this guitar unique, Pimentel said, is its outward celebration of New Mexico culture.

Bryan Perdue of Las Cruces has played guitar for 40 years and bought his first Pimentel during the 1980s. He said he would like to see the Sunrise guitar next to other official state designations like the yucca, turquoise and bizcochitos.

“New Mexico’s overdue for an official state guitar,” Perdue said. “And nobody deserves it more than the Pimentels. They are New Mexico.”

Perdue has a special interest in the elegant instrument. After shelling out a hefty sum — Pimentel’s top guitars easily go for as much as $10,000 apiece — he’s the guitar’s proud owner.

DEAN HANSON/JOURNAL Brothers and master guitar luthiers Robert and Rick Pimentel reveal the family’s latest creation, the New Mexico Sunrise. The steel-string acoustic guitar is a tribute to New Mexico. It is custom-made and retails for about $8,000, says Rick Pimentel, holding guitar.

The idea for the Sunrise series was sparked while Rick Pimentel and family worked on Perdue’s guitar.

During a mariachi conference in Las Cruces, the family had a chance encounter with Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

“We introduced ourselves, and Domenici said, ‘And whom might you be?’ ’’ said Pimentel. “We told him who we were and he said, ‘Oh, well, you are New Mexico.’ That inspired us to create a guitar that paid homage to our state. We thought, ‘We got to do this the best we can.’ ’’

On Monday, Domenici told the Journal in an e-mail that a Pimentel guitar would make a worthy state symbol.

“The Pimentel family has been a fixture of Albuquerque’s business and music communities for over a half a century,” he wrote. “Through their work … they’ve helped preserve the art of hand-crafted instruments and they’ve made a great contribution to beautiful traditional Spanish music.”

With its top-notch construction and design aesthetic, the Sunrise blurs the line between function and art. On the fret board, red coral and mother-ofpearl inlays depict the rising (or setting, depending on which way you look at it) of a zia sun. Another coral zia on the headstock contains a mother-of-pearl center and an ebony figure of a black bear.

The guitar is made of 10 types of imported wood, aged 10 to 15 years in a warehouse. The saddle and nut (the white strips that keep the strings raised and in place) are made of fossilized walrus ivory.

“This is Number 1 in the series,” Pimentel said. “Every guitar we make is custom, so the next person to come in will get to design the guitar to their exact playing needs. But the guitar can have all the same art and design.”

Potential buyers should be patient. Some customers wait three to four years for a custom Pimentel.

Rick Pimentel’s face lights up when he talks about his craft. It’s in his blood. Lorenzo Pimentel, the family patriarch, raised four of his nine sons in the art of guitar making. At age 79, Lorenzo still steers the business and works at least eight hours a day in the shop.

“We work in the old 14th-, 15th-century tradition, and we only work in the family,” Rick Pimentel said. “It’s very rare today to find handmade guitars. Great instruments, like a great Stradivarius, are built by one person only. That’s what we do. We’re guitar makers.”

DEAN HANSON/JOURNAL Taking more than a year to craft, the New Mexico Sunrise guitar is adorned with inlays of coral and mother-of-pearl. It has 10 types of aged wood from around the world.