# OK, I gve up, who the hell is Esteban? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868 "2006-03-03T04:51:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/1 "2006-03-03T04:51:05Z")
He’s apparently a musician of some sort, and he’s in a Geico commercial. Why should I know him, and more importantly, why should I care? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/2 "2006-03-03T04:56:44Z")
You shouldn’t know and you shouldn’t care. Why do you think you should? I know a little about him and it hasn’t enhanced my life one bit. Basically, he’s a classical guitarist (real name Stephen Paul) who sells guitars on cable TV. The guitars, I heard, were complete shit. I guess he’s now recognizable enough to mocking himself a little in commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/3 "2006-03-03T05:01:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You shouldn’t know and you shouldn’t care. Why do you think you should? I know a little about him and it hasn’t enhanced my life one bit. > > Basically, he’s a classical guitarist (real name Stephen Paul) who sells guitars on cable TV. The guitars, I heard, were complete shit. I guess he’s now recognizable enough to mocking himself a little in commercials. No, that’s not it, basically. See my earlier post on him [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=340250&highlight=esteban), he’s been through the shiite. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/4 "2006-03-03T05:06:16Z")
No, I think I pretty much covered it. I said he’s a classical guitarist. The thread you linked to in that post pretty much backs up my version- that although his guitar skills and life story seem to be legit, because of his persona on TV and the awful quality of the guitars, he’s a living joke. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/5 "2006-03-03T05:08:31Z")
So he’s kind of a male Charo. I like the “random fact” from the wiki article. “Esteban has never been to Central America, especially Costa Rica.” So, he’s been staying away from that region but he’s been staying _really_ away from Costa Rica. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/6 "2006-03-03T05:16:09Z")
Well, I have to respectfully disagree. Please review the Wiki section titled Segovia Years. That kind of effort is rare. Then please review the Wiki section titled Commercial Success. That kind of thing happens less than one in a million, bro. He ain’t just some “classical guitarist.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/7 "2006-03-03T05:18:58Z")
Sorry if that was dismissive, **Ripper**. My initial impression of Esteban comes from other guitarists talking about the horrible quality of the guitar he was selling. Perhaps he really believes in bringing classical guitar to the people - and if so, great - but I find it hard to believe in the intentions of a guy who sold guitars made partly out of particle board (and listed “it’s so shiny” among its good points). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/8 "2006-03-03T05:23:59Z")
> [@Operation Ripper](#): > > Well, I have to respectfully disagree. Please review the Wiki section titled Segovia Years. That kind of effort is rare. Then please review the Wiki section titled Commercial Success. That kind of thing happens less than one in a million, bro. He ain’t just some “classical guitarist.” I read it more than once before posting. Esteban is known, I felt, for being a personality, not following Segovia around or his injuries. So I thought that answered **Otto** ’s question. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/9 "2006-03-03T05:26:26Z")
Well, I am not a fan of his genre of music to be honest, but when I read up on him, I couldn’t believe he didn’t just chuck it all in and file for Social Security disability like everyone else I know similarly situated. He didn’t, worked hard apparently, and made presumeably a million or so, rather than going on the government dole. That impressed me. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/10 "2006-03-03T05:28:44Z")
Don’t forget that he can save you hundreds of dollars in car insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/11 "2006-03-03T05:32:04Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Don’t forget that he can save you hundreds of dollars in car insurance. That’s the good news. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/12 "2006-03-03T07:28:17Z")
**Suburban Plankton** and I had seen the Geico commercials with the mysterious Esteban many times. We had no idea who he was. Then last September, September 8th to be exact, we were in a hotel room in Aspen getting ready for my cousin’s wedding. We turned on the TV to keep our 7 yr old son occupied when all of a sudden who should appear on the screen? Yes, the mysterious Esteban. It was one of his infomercials. Aha! the mystery solved. So tramatic in fact that we remember the day. Or, alternatively we remember the day because it’s my cousin’s wedding. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/13 "2006-03-03T13:25:03Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > So tramatic in fact that we remember the day. Or, alternatively we remember the day because it’s my cousin’s wedding. Not that a family wedding and a traumatic experience are mutually exclusive, really… ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/14 "2006-03-03T15:05:42Z")
I thought he was a made-up character for that Geico commercial- I didn’t know anything about him on QVC or anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/15 "2006-03-03T16:00:42Z")
Funny, I’d been thinking about starting this exact same thread for the last few days, but it kept slipping my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/16 "2006-03-03T16:11:35Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I thought he was a made-up character for that Geico commercial- I didn’t know anything about him on QVC or anything else. There’s something about him - or maybe it’s _everything_ about him - that makes people wonder if he’s a made-up character. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/17 "2006-03-03T16:19:26Z")
I first became aware of the guy as a child watching [cartoons](http://www.animationusa.com/hb/kabong.html). ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-gve-up-who-the-hell-is-esteban/346868/18 "2006-03-04T20:30:57Z")
[The Official Esteban Website](http://www.estebanmusic.com/), if you’re so inclined. The Geico commercial cracked me up.