His hands are rough, with scars on the palms, a consequence of the manipulation of stilettos. His obsession: talking about Antonio Stradivari and collecting old wood.

Norberto Novik’s hands, the pieces of wood scattered everywhere and the uncovered cello hanging in the room show his work.

That atmosphere can be observed from the entrance to his house in Tumbaco and of his trade as a luthier.

It was during his schooldays, in the seventies, when he started researching the history of humanity through musical instruments . He tells the story of humanity through instruments. As a result, Norberto then got involved in instrument construction and restoration – of all types of instruments. He was joining pieces of wood, when a school janitor suggested him to be careful with glue and varnish. “Within hours, that janitor who no one gave a damn about taught me about the guitar. He mastered techniques on instruments. Pons was his last name, he was my teacher,” says Novik, an Argentinean creator of violins, cellos and guitars.

Each stringed instrument carved by him is made to order. His workshop in the valley of Tumbaco has history, like the cello without cover, more than 400 years old, the work of Antonio Stradivarius, an Italian luthier.

Or like the harp, painted by the Ecuadorian master Eduardo Kingman, or like the 14 violins on a shelf and the 26 bows, in a row, hanging on the white wall. Novik first set foot in Ecuador, thanks to his adventurous lineage, in 1973.

He left home when he was 22 years old. With a suitcase that supported 18 kilos, between clothes and food that his sister Dina gave him. In his pocket he kept USD 174.

“All the food was not enough but from Argentina to Bolivia, where I arrived with 4 kilos of luggage”.

From there he learned to travel light. After crossing Peru, she arrived in Ecuador. He liked the country and made a stopover in the Amazon, where he worked in various trades, even as a pilot. He has lived in different countries for 18 years and has been in Ecuador for 22.

When he receives an instrument, Novik places it on a red flannel. He studies it to identify its historical process. “That study is to repair it with the same materials close to its time, so that the shape, color and sound of the instrument are not altered,” says Novik.

In his workshop there are old woods, which serve as material for the restoration.

The 60-year-old Argentinean says that it is more difficult for him to study where each part of the instrument comes from than the repair itself. A small two-story adobe house, built by him nine years ago, serves as his workshop and home.

In one of the rooms there are violins, cellos and guitars at the ready. On white walls are the tools of his trade. “The restorations are primarily aimed at the sound of the instrument. The idea is not to alter the original design of the instrument. The idea is not to alter the original design of the instrument, so we try to disguise breaks that could deteriorate the sound,” he says.

He points out that there are fewer and fewer people restoring instruments, due to the crisis of the century. “There are about 100 mummies on the planet who do this,” he says as he talks about the history of the violin, which was born in Brescia, in northern Italy, in 1520.

Novik was born in Tandil, in southern Argentina. In 1981 was the last time he visited his native country, for 24 days. He has repaired and made countless instruments. Laughing, he says that he does not know how to play well any of the instruments he repairs and does not have one of his own. People come to his workshop with certified violins.

Among anecdotes, he recalls that they brought him a Stradivarius, which cost the owner a million dollars. “As soon as I saw it, I told him the brand, the repair it needed and the cost: USD 700”.

The label and certificate were fake. Of such cases, he says there are many. When creating or repairing a violin, he is inspired by the final sound he wants to achieve from the instrument. His repairs are of both substance and form.