Together with her brother José Ramírez, Amalia Ramírez formed the fourth generation of Ramírez Guitars. However, when José passed away, she took over the business, both in marketing and in the construction of guitars.
Nowadays, the V generation has also come into play, made up of her nephews Cristina Ramírez and her brother José Enrique Ramírez.
Thus, RTVE wanted to interview Amalia and Cristina to explain the role of women as guitar makers.
Women luthiers of Guitarras Ramírez
During the interview, Cristina tells us about her pride and responsibility to continue with the family business and Amalia explains that she felt at home the first day she went to the workshop to learn about guitar making.
Both explain the tasks that have to be carried out to move up the ranks in the workshop, going from apprentice to 2nd officer and then to 1st officer and, finally, master. However, in this workshop, only a Ramírez can be a master, so if a first officer wants to be a master, he will have to become independent, set up his own workshop and create his own designs and templates. In addition, they share that dedication and years of dedication are required to dedicate oneself to this trade, as is necessary for any trade, such as the training of a musician, for example.
Amalia admits that sometimes she still finds it difficult to think of herself as a master, because you never stop learning something new, even though she has a great deal of experience and knowledge, knowing the reason for all the elements and steps in the construction of a guitar.
They also tell of special requests they have received, the most spectacular being a commission from a gentleman who wanted his guitar case to be made from the ears of bulls that bullfighters had cut off in winning bullfights, something they did not do. They also describe the story of Mangoré, who dropped his Ramírez guitar in the Río de la Plata in Uruguay and continued to play it after this incident.
Cristina expresses that the Spanish guitar is a very versatile instrument that can fit into many styles, mentioning the video clip of “And I love Her” by the Beatles or various concerts by Alejandro Sanz, where Ramírez guitars appear.
In 2020 they began to embark on the digitalisation of the business, establishing a new communication channel through the Internet and social networks.
Here is the link to the programme so you can listen to it in its entirety.
