José Ramírez

José I Ramírez was the founder of the Spanish luthier dynasty.

Biography

Born 1857. He was the first child of José Ramírez de Galarreta, a very well-off land owner. By 1870 the young José had chosen to complete his apprenticeship in the guitar workshop of Francisco Gonzalez (1830-1880).

From the time when José Ramírez I installed his workshop in Concepción Jerónima nº 2 in 1882, the shop has sold Ramírez guitars through four generations.

José Ramírez III changed the situation when, due to the increasing demand for guitars at the beginning of the 1960s, he moved his workshop to General Margallo street. There he taught new artisans, leaving the establishment in Concepción Jerónima solely as shop open to the public.

At the beginning of the seventies he opened a larger shop in front of the old, in the number 5 of Concepción Jerónima. The little shop remained closed until the end of the eighties, when José Ramírez IV and his sister Amalia decided to restore and reopen it.

In 1995 they were obliged to abandon the venerable establishment due to the impossibility of renewing the lease. They bought a new space in the same area (Calle de la Paz No.8) where, in addition to acquiring a guitar, one can view part of the Ramírez family's guitar collection, including examples not only made by the Ramírez dynasty, but also, amongst others, Antonio de Torres, Santos Hermández, Dionisio Guerra, Francisco Simplicio, and Manuel Muñoa.

There is a list of well-known classical (and flamenco) guitarists, that includes the Romeros, David Russell and Manolo Sanlúcar, who have performed these instruments.

Bibliography

External links

* http://www.guitarrasramirez.com