Here is something you don’t see often, a twin mandolin.

Cruz Quinal, “the mandolin king,” lives near Cumaná, Venezuela in a mountain valley surrounded by sugarcane fields. Perpetuating 16th century Spanish traditions of guitar-making, Cruz fashions such musical instruments as cuatros, marimba, escarpandola, and his own creation, a mandolin with two fretboards. He is an accomplished musician as well. In this moving portrait, Cruz compares himself to a decaying colonial church across the street: revered yet neglected, the village altar stands, paint peeling, under the open sky. a film by John Dickinson distributed by Documentary Educational Resources