New Mexico State Guitar

New Mexico Sunrise Guitar

Adopted on March 25, 2009.

March 25, 2009 a guitar known as the New Mexico sunrise was named New Mexico's Official Guitar. The instrument is a custom guitar designed and handcrafted by Pimentel and Sons. "The Pimentels represent a rich tradition in our state, celebrating both music making and fine craftsmanship,"said Museum of Art Director Mary Kershaw. "It is an honor for our museum to safeguard and showcase this important work of art from the Pimentel family."The guitar features inlaid Zia sun symbols. 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.

New Mexico State Guitar:
New Mexico Sunrise Guitar

In 2009 the New Mexico Legislature passed and Governor Bill Richardson signed Senate Bill 52, sponsored by Sen. Mary Kay Papen (D-Doña Ana), making the New Mexico Sunrise the state's official state guitar. The steel-string acoustic guitar, made of East Indian rosewood, red Sitka spruce, Honduras mahogany, and ebony, features five Zia emblems, designed with the permission of the Zia nation, inlaid with coral, mother of pearl, and ebony, and adorned with the New Mexico sun, a Navajo star, a bear claw, a roadrunner, an outline of the state of New Mexico and an American flag. The New Mexico Sunrise, conceptualized by Rick Pimentel, was designed by the Pimentels as the first in a series of custom-built guitars paying homage to the culture and symbolism of the state.

"The Pimentels represent a rich tradition in our state, celebrating both music making and fine craftsmanship,"said Museum of Art Director Mary Kershaw. "It is an honor for our museum to safeguard and showcase this important work of art from the Pimentel family."

The New Mexico Museum of Art is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

New Mexico Law

The law designating the New Mexico sunrise guitar as the official New Mexico state guitar is found in the 2013  New Mexico Statutes, Title 12, Article 3, Section 12-3-18

Chapter 12, Article 3 of the New Mexico Statutes Annotated
Section 12-3-18. Official state guitar

12-3-18. Official state guitar.
The New Mexico sunrise guitar is adopted as the official guitar of New Mexico.
History: Laws 2009, ch. 27, § 1.