{{Short description|Guitar made from a modified firearm}} [[Image:Escopetarra.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Escopetarra'' on display at the United Nations Headquarters.]]

[[Image:Escopetarra_on_display_the_United_Nations_Headquarters.jpg|thumb|right|''Escopetarra'' display at the UN Headquarters {{as of|2016|December|lc=y}}]]

An '''''escopetarra''''' ({{IPA|es|eskopeˈtara|lang}}) is a guitar made from a modified firearm, used as a peace symbol. The name is a portmanteau of the Spanish words ''escopeta'' (shotgun) and ''guitarra'' (guitar).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/03/guitar_made_from_ak47_the_esco.html|title=Guitar made from AK-47 - The Escopetarra|last=Torrone|first=Phillip|publisher=MAKE: Technology on Your Time|date=2006-03-11|accessdate=2007-01-31|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125133642/http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/03/guitar_made_from_ak47_the_esco.html|archivedate=2007-01-25}}</ref>

== History ==

The ''escopetarra'' was invented by Colombian peace activist César López in 2003 at a gathering after the El Nogal Club bombing in Bogotá, when he noticed a soldier holding a firearm like a guitar.<ref name=bbce>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5033626.stm Colombian musicians organise online], BBC News, 1 June 2006</ref> The first ''escopetarra'' in 2003 was made from a Winchester rifle and a Stratocaster electric guitar.<ref>Making music out of menace: A Colombian musician has fashioned guitars out of rifles to help spread a message of peace. ''Miami Herald'', March 7, 2006</ref>

López initially had five ''escopetarras'' built by Colombian luthier Alberto Paredes, four of which were given to Colombian musician Juanes, Argentine musician Fito Páez, the United Nations Development Program, and the city government of Bogotá, while one was kept for himself. Juanes later sold his ''escopetarra'' for US$17,000 at a Beverly Hills fundraiser held to benefit victims of anti-personnel mines,<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|title=Escopetarras: disparando música|last=Latorre|first=Héctor|date=2006-01-24|access-date=2007-01-31|publisher=BBC World|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/misc/newsid_4644000/4644028.stm}}</ref> while the ''escopetarra'' given to the UN was exhibited at the June 2006 of the UN Conference on Disarmament.<ref>{{cite news|title=La escopeta transformada en guitarra del músico César López será exhibida en la ONU|url=http://www.desarme.org/publique/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?sid=16&infoid=5025|last=Conte|first=Gabriel|publisher=Desarme.org|date=2006-06-15|accessdate=2007-01-31|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095508/http://www.desarme.org/publique/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?sid=16&infoid=5025|archivedate=2007-09-29}}</ref>

In 2006, López acquired an additional 12 decommissioned AK-47 assault rifles from Colombia's peace commissioner's office, with plans to convert them into guitars and give them to high-profile musicians such as Shakira, Carlos Santana, Juanes and Paul McCartney, as well as political figures such as the Dalai Lama. However, a member of the Dalai Lama's staff rejected López's offer, citing the inappropriateness of giving a weapon as a gift; López has said he will try to explain his purpose more clearly.<ref name="Sites">{{cite news |last=Sites |first=Kevin |url=http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs3860;_ylt=AtqLBf1cY4xDT9Yr.HLpoSqLFMsF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjM3FjYjBzBHNlYwNibG9nLXN1bQ-- |publisher=Yahoo! News |title=Killer Sound |date=2006-04-24 |accessdate=2007-01-31 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311165049/http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs3860%3B_ylt%3DAtqLBf1cY4xDT9Yr.HLpoSqLFMsF%3B_ylu%3DX3oDMTBjM3FjYjBzBHNlYwNibG9nLXN1bQ-- |archivedate=March 11, 2007 }}</ref> One was also given to Kenyan singer Eric Wainaina on the occasion of the UNODC's 2008 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, to honour his appointment as a UNODC Messenger of Non-Violence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicnairobi.org/wainaina.asp|title=Eric Wainaina receives a symbol of peace from the U.N|publisher=U.N. Information Centre in Nairobi|accessdate=28 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904221528/http://www.unicnairobi.org/Wainaina.asp|archive-date=4 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the 1980s, Pete Tosh of Jamaican reggae group The Wailers played a guitar that was shaped to look like an M16 assault rifle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Tosh-s-famous-M16-guitar-being-kept--br--by-friend_8613195 |title=Finding Tosh's M16 |access-date=2016-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408032421/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/Entertainment/Tosh-s-famous-M16-guitar-being-kept--br--by-friend_8613195 |archive-date=2011-04-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Finnish death metal guitarist Sami Lopakka plays a similar instrument, known as the Lopashnikov.<ref>{{Cite web |title=KYPCK Ground Zero |url=http://www.kypck-doom.com/lopashnikov.htm |access-date=2025-11-13 |website=www.kypck-doom.com}}</ref>

==See also== *Swords into ploughshares

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.elmundo.es/cultura/2015/02/21/54e7a773ca4741986d8b457d.html ''Arte para coser la herida''], article at ''El Mundo'' (Colombian newspaper) *[http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/colombia-dispatch-7-turning-guns-into-guitars-88180366/ Colombia Dispatch 7: Turning Guns into Guitars], at Smithsonian *[http://www.unodc.org/newsletter/en/perspectives/no03/page008.html Escopetarra: Instrument of peace], article at UNDOC

Category:Firearms Category:Peace monuments and memorials