{"id":29814,"date":"2026-09-09T07:20:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T05:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guitarrasramirez.com\/historical-hints-c-6-it-all-started-in-salvatierra-jose-ramirez-is-history\/"},"modified":"2017-12-28T08:00:58","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T07:00:58","slug":"historical-hints-c-6-it-all-started-in-salvatierra-jose-ramirez-is-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guitarrasramirez.com\/en\/historical-hints-c-6-it-all-started-in-salvatierra-jose-ramirez-is-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Historical Hints (C.6). It all started in Salvatierra: Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I’s history"},"content":{"rendered":"

It all started in \u00a0Salvatierra of Alava, a town founded in 1256 by Alfonso X the Wise, a villa of great importance in the eighteenth century, a crossroads of culture, music, commerce … among France, the Basque Country, Navarra, La Rioja and Castilla, and located in the centre of the Camino de Santiago. In this town Domingo Ramirez de Galarreta y Mart\u00ednez de Abad was born, the father of Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I<\/a>, also born in the same locality.<\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta y Planet<\/h2>\n

It is said that there is nothing like doing those things one was born for and being brave enough to carry them out. And although nobody said it would be easy, it really is satisfactory when one goes for the things dictated by one\u2019s heart.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that was the case of my great-grandfather, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I, the founder of this house, master of masters, among them, his younger brother Manuel<\/a> should be brought out; at the same time, his brother Jos\u00e9 was a key personality in the development of Madrid\u2019s School of Guitar Constructors<\/a>. Some of his other disciples were Rafael Casana, Enrique Garc\u00eda (who later established himself in Barcelona and at the same time was the master of Francisco Simplicio), Juli\u00e1n G\u00f3mez Ram\u00edrez (who established himself in Paris), Antonio Viudez and of course, his firstborn child Jos\u00e9 Sim\u00f3n, the second of the family saga.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 was born in Madrid on the 27th<\/sup> of January 1858 at six o\u2019clock in the morning. It was a curious coincidence \u2013 maybe synchrony? \u2013 that this very same day, one century before, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<\/a> <\/strong>had been born, and although the only thing that they had in common \u2013 from the astrological point of view \u2013 was the natal Sun in the very same degree as Aquarius, during their lives at least they shared their love for music. The other interesting coincidence is that two of Jos\u00e9\u2019s great-great-grandsons \u2013 my nephews Enrique and Javier \u2013 were also born the very same day one century later<\/strong>. I must add that Enrique is nowadays constructing guitars in our workshop and teaching the job to his sister Cristina.<\/p>\n

This is not the first article I write about my ancestors taking some references from their natal planets. The first I wrote was about Manuel Ram\u00edrez because it was ordered from Alhama de Arag\u00f3n, the village where he was born. But had I felt like writing on my own initiative, to be fair, I would have started from the beginning, that is, from my great-grandfather Jos\u00e9. He was the one that started this marvellous adventure; after all, I must say that he involved us all that came behind, from his youngest brother Manuel to my nephews Cristina and Enrique.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The power of Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez’s passion for guitar making<\/h3>\n

What is their strength in the astral chart of Jos\u00e9 to have passed on his great passion for the construction of guitars? That was my first question when I decided to write about him. And I found the answer precisely in the fourth house, the family one, the roots, the genetic inheritance\u2026 close conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto at the height of the house, where its presence is more powerful. They tell us about an intense personality, even obsessive, and the expansive and transforming power of his nature, about his passion and enthusiasm, no doubt infectious, as well as being ability to transcend every boundary; all these things were highlighted by his opposition to Mars in the highest point of his chart in the Meridian and Scorpio. Now I understand the origin of that bad temper my father talked about when he recalled him. And I also understand his strength when it came to starting this road in the guitar world little-known, starting from scratch.<\/p>\n

Although the truth is that I would not dare to say that he really started from scratch because there is a family history of professional musicians, even the existence of a contemporary guitar maker. He lived in Logro\u00f1o, in the number 52 of Mayor Street, around the year 1890, and he was certainly his brother. According to our latest research, his name was Antonio Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta y Planells.<\/strong> Maybe, if we follow the track of this information we will get to know interesting facts that I will be delighted to share if I have more precise information.*<\/strong><\/p>\n

The truth is that, at present, we haven\u2019t had any proof of the existence of any ancestor in the family who had this job, that\u2019s why we always have believed that it must have been a pure vocation, because his father, Domingo Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta y Mart\u00ednez Abad, was a constructor, and as far as we know he enjoyed a quite healthy economic situation, so it calls our attention that Jos\u00e9, his firstborn child, would choose such a badly paid job instead of taking up his father business, which was much more lucrative.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where did Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I’s vocation come from?<\/h3>\n

Nevertheless, there is a curious fact about Domingo, J.R. I\u2019s father that could point in a different direction and this fact is that to be more precise, he was a constructor and master carpenter. We have to take into account that at that time, in Madrid, the Wood industry included guitar makers.<\/strong> Therefore it is easy to deduce that there was a relationship between Domingo and the guitar makers from Madrid, and of course, Francisco Gonz\u00e1lez (J.R. I\u2019s master) was among them. He was established as a carpenter\/ cabinet-maker in 1849.<\/p>\n

It is not strange at all that Domingo\u2019s three eldest sons (Jos\u00e9, Antonio and Manuel) were guitar makers. Is it possible that Domingo was also a guitar maker? It\u2019s a pity that at present, we don\u2019t know the existence of any guitar that he could build, but it is a fact to take into account, especially now that we have discovered the existence of Antonio Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta working as a guitar maker in Logro\u00f1o<\/strong>, a fact unknown to the present day.*<\/strong><\/p>\n

The personality of Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I<\/h3>\n

Returning to JR I, it is interesting, and it serves us well to describe his personality, the fact that Jos\u00e9 was the godfather of most of the babies on his street. That was because, at that time, the babies that were born in families that could not afford their baptism would register their kids in the parish\u2019s archives as \u201csolemn poor\u201d, and that would determine the course of their lives as fatal predestination. But when Jos\u00e9 was the godfather, he would take the priest to the sacristy, and the voices of the hot argument could be heard until the priest ended up not making the terrible inscription. Finally, it was enough that the priest saw Jos\u00e9 at the head of the baptism party and he would give up in advance to make the note as if it were an unspoken peace pact.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My father would also tell us that, at that time, there was an open war between streetcar and cart drivers. Streetcars could only go forward and it was extremely difficult for cart drivers to manoeuvre to move backwards so conflicts at crossroads were quite frequent. Particularly, at the entrance of Concepci\u00f3n Jer\u00f3nima Street, just in front of Jos\u00e9\u2019s guitar shop, it was usual that streetcar drivers, seeing a cart coming in their direction, would go into the crossroad and stop in front of the cart so it would stop. This way, the cart driver had to go back pulling his horses, which was quite spectacular and difficult. More than once, Jos\u00e9 went in defence of the cart driver, and that ended up in the streetcar driver yielding way to the cart as they saw Jos\u00e9 at the door of his guitar shop<\/strong>, thus avoiding the hardened guitar maker going mad at them.<\/p>\n

The restless and innovative spirit of Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez I<\/h3>\n

Jos\u00e9 started his apprenticeship when he was only 12 years old in the workshop of Francisco Gonzalez in 1870, and he became independent moving to the 24 of Cava Baja in 1882. So we can say that the dynasty of Ram\u00edrez guitar makers started in 1870, although the company started in 1882; this is the date we have in all our documents when we refer to the founding of the house.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there is a fact, that investigating, led me to some conclusion that could point to the origin of his inclination toward the guitar world. My father always told us that his grandfather, Ram\u00edrez I, was a mason, in particular Master of Ceremonies, as he had the walking stick that represented the post. I must say that it was not strange, at the time, that professionals with some training were masons, which allowed them to get information and knowledge that would be impossible to attain by other means. Probably his father was also a mason, apart from being a close friend of the Marquis of Salamanca; they both constructed Salamanca\u2019s district in Madrid and, as it is well known, he was also a mason. And not long ago I could know that the Marquis of Salamanca was also friends with Torres\u2019 father*. Of course, I can\u2019t state if Torres was a mason or not, but he was a friend of Jos\u00e9. And if we take this into account, it could be as if closing the circle with unsuspected ways, as it usually happens in this game of life, and from masonry to guitar construction, a bridge would be established, that in this case would explain the reason why Jos\u00e9 took such a peculiar decision.<\/p>\n

Among all the documents we keep, we have some letters of T\u00e1rrega addressed to my great-grandfather in which the close relationship between Jos\u00e9 and Torres is reflected.<\/p>\n

In any case, the love of the guitar in our family was not only focused on its construction, because Jos\u00e9 also played the guitar, as it is deduced from the entries that appear in a book of his accounts that we keep, where they are reflected, periodically, income for “guitar class”. Like at least two of his children: Jos\u00e9 and Luis, who were also professional guitarists. Jos\u00e9, in addition to learning the trade of his father, at the age of 20 travelled with a group of artists to South America, hired as a guitarist, better known as Sim\u00f3n, or Jos\u00e9 Sim\u00f3n. As for Luis, he belonged to the Tr\u00edo Espa\u00f1ol and later to the Alpine Trio, of lute, bandurria and guitar.<\/p>\n

I believe that Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez is quite unknown, even to the members of his family, and it has taken me quite a long time to look into his life and personality; if I trust his astral chart and the hints my father was leaving behind when he talked about him, I think he was an interesting character, with a greatly rich inner world, but with an austere appearance that didn\u2019t reflect the complexities of his nature.<\/p>\n

What is out of the question is the fact that he was a restless spirit, a determined person that had to face a quite difficult life, filled with tests, as my father said, those tests that \u2018harden your guts\u2019 but also wear you out; their legacy was poorly acknowledged for the importance it had in the evolution of the guitar.<\/strong> That is, much fighting, valuable and effective achievements, renowned at the moment, but later, they were easily forgotten.<\/p>\n

In the year 1897, he was awarded the golden medal of the Regional Exhibition of Logro\u00f1o. His best-known creation was the Tablao Guitar<\/a>. It was developed to meet the demands of the flamenco guitar players of the time<\/strong>, they needed a guitar with a sound powerful enough that could be heard in prominent places; different from the flamenco guitars<\/a> that, up to that moment, were played in small rooms, in the privacy of the groups that would fit \u2018under an umbrella\u2019. But the voices of those guitars got lost in flamenco stages, so the guitar created by Jos\u00e9 was an important step forward, not only due to its powerful sound but also because its quality was quite high.<\/p>\n

My father used to say that when Manuel established himself on his own, he took with him Jos\u00e9\u2019s Tablao Guitar, and he went on constructing it, although afterwards, he did some changes that improved the model until it became the base for the present Flamenco Guitar.<\/strong> However, I am not quite sure about that. I really believe that the Flamenco Guitar Manuel developed later is a completely different concept from the Tablao Guitar on which, in the beginning, he was based. But these models are not comparable.<\/p>\n

In our collection, we have three of Jos\u00e9\u2019s Tablao Guitars that have a beautiful sound, in spite of the fact that they are great-great-grandmother guitars. Those guitar players that have tested them have really liked their sound, their warmth and clearness<\/strong>, and paradoxically the classics liked them more than the flamencos. These guitars have the sound of forgotten stories, summer sunsets, and meetings with friends; their sound is warm, intimate, but round and rich; one of them sounds quite metallic \u2013 in the end, it is maple \u2013 and quite special; the other ones are cypress, we are more used to their sound. Not long ago, a close friend* from this house said that in his collection he had two Tablao Guitars, one from Jos\u00e9 and the other from Manuel, and he could not find any meaningful difference between them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We also keep the \u2018Se\u00f1orita\u2019 guitar, it has a lovely sound. Its name is Carmen. At least this is what is written on the delicate picture of its beautiful head. All through the years, I have received some images of unique pieces, they are really beautiful, they were constructed by Jos\u00e9, which led me to understand that he was a great artist apart from being a good guitar maker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brothers Jos\u00e9 and Manuel Ram\u00edrez<\/h3>\n

It is impossible to talk about Jos\u00e9 without talking also about Manuel, moreover, after revising his professional career since they separated themselves. There\u2019s no doubt that Jos\u00e9 was the master of Manuel. However, it seems that Jos\u00e9 was not the owner of the workshop in Cava Baja 24.<\/p>\n

Following one of the sources I have checked, Manuel appears as a guitar maker in Cava Baja 24 in the year 1890, where he also lived with his wife and his parents-in-law until 1905, in the first floor his father-in-law had a tinsmith shop. But it is also true that the flat in Cava Baja 24 was inherited by my grandfather.<\/p>\n

In fact, in our collection, we have a little shop window guitar with its label dated 1889, with this direction.<\/strong> I understand that this house was inherited by my grandfather, because my grandparents, my father and his brother Alfredo lived there since they arrived from Buenos Aires almost five years after the death of my grandfather (JR II) in 1957. I still remember the house and the entrance hall, although I was very young. It was a dark and small entrance hall, it smelled old, at the entrance there was a little squeaking door, made of wood and glass, and at the left, the stairs rounded up with their worn out steps, the wrought iron handrail.<\/p>\n

All those things related to the Cava Baja workshop are a little bit confusing, I don\u2019t have the official data about the existence of the brothers\u2019 workshop, but there are guitars with labels that certify it. During that period, from 1882 to 1886-87, Jos\u00e9 would teach Manuel the job.<\/p>\n

The information I always had about the relationship between the brothers, was that in 1887-88 Manuel wanted to establish himself on his own and set up his workshop in Paris, it is possible that he was encouraged by the experience of Juli\u00e1n G\u00f3mez Ram\u00edrez; to do that, he asked Jos\u00e9 for help and he gave him some money for him to make his dream come true. In the end, Manuel, undoubtedly due to something unexpected, saw his project frustrated and he stayed in Madrid and ended up settling himself in Santa Ana square in 1890, although it seems that they still lived in Cava Baja. Later on, he moved his business to Arlab\u00e1n Street 11, although he then set up the workshop in number 6 and the shop in number 10, and later again in number 11, where he also moved his house in 1910. This was the address of his widow until 1921.<\/p>\n

However, following the line of the aforementioned source, I was surprised by the fact that it seems that it was Jos\u00e9 the first to leave, as he left the Cava Baja workshop in 1886-87, setting up in the Rastro Square 4. There, he stayed for a year to move again to Concepci\u00f3n Jer\u00f3nima 2 where we, his heirs, continued until 1995. This is the house where his father lived until he died in the year 1896.<\/p>\n

The strange thing is that it really seems that Manuel continued in Cava Baja until 1905. It calls my attention that the key period between 1886 and 1888, when the brothers got separated, is the same period when his father writes his last wills in 1887, although he died nine years later.<\/p>\n

During a long time I have believed, quite bewildered, by the way, that my great-grandfather lived in the Concepci\u00f3n Jer\u00f3nima shop with his wife and sons. The reason why I was so bewildered is because I knew this establishment quite well, and it was so small that I found it very difficult to believe how the workshop, the upper floor and the shop downstairs could leave any space for a person to live there. At the back there was a toilet and a small kitchen; but they would have to sleep stacked one over the other, and even this way, there was no space for them all. Of course, in a way, that turned my great-grandparents into wizards with incredible abilities to take advance of such a small space – it is outstanding what we, romantics and not practical at all people, are able to believe sometimes.<\/p>\n

However, with my recent investigations, I discovered that at that time, my great-grandfather lived in his flat in Carretera de Extremadura, while his workshop was in Concepci\u00f3n Jer\u00f3nima, and his father\u2019s house was in the same address; it must have been the house where he moved later, in 1895, a year before the death of my great-great-grandfather. I must say that this provided me with great relief, although the matter lost for me the charm that it had to believe my great-grandparents had the magic gift to make possible impossible things.<\/p>\n

As for the kitchen at the back of the shop, it is true that my great-grandmother used to cook there. It probably was a practical measure to eat in the place where they spent most of their time. In fact, as I was told, there was a flamenco guitar player that my great-grandmother liked a lot (the way he played the guitar, of course) and both were quite fond of each other. When he went to the shop, he liked to surprise her picking a guitar and playing it, so she would recognize him immediately and left the kitchen to greet and listen to him play, and she always was quite touched.<\/p>\n

Coming back to the brothers, they worked together in Cava Baja 24 during a period of time between 1882 and 1887. It is understood that it was there where Jos\u00e9 taught the job to his younger brother Manuel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a guitar*<\/strong> with the following label:<\/p>\n

GUITAR SHOP
\nOF
\nJOS\u00c9 RAM\u00cdREZ DE GALARRETA AND BROTHER
\nGUITAR CONSTRUCTORS<\/p>\n

And the address was Cava Baja 24.<\/p>\n

The best thing about this guitar is that at the inside of the top the following stamp is profusely printed:<\/p>\n

GUITAR FACTORY
\nMANUEL RAM\u00cdREZ<\/p>\n

It could be said that this is a fit of rage; anyway, it is clear that Manuel was reaffirming himself, and I think he was showing his great desire to become independent as well as assert the authorship of the aforementioned guitar.<\/strong> It does not seem to be a very pacific preamble in their later separation. Actually, I have no idea about what happened between Jos\u00e9 and Manuel. The only thing I know is that they stopped talking to each other forever.<\/p>\n

Manuel died before Jos\u00e9, they never reconciled. I was really impressed when my father talked to me about this. And also knowing that during my grandfather\u2019s life there was an unspoken prohibition not to mention Manuel in any way, as if he had never existed<\/strong>. But my father (JR III) was the one who recovered him and reestablished his place into the family.<\/p>\n

In Jos\u00e9\u2019s chart there is a clear sign about a misfortune related to a brother, something that, no doubt, caused him great pain that marked him for the rest of his life \u2013 my father has this very same point in his chart, although in this case, the misfortune was the death of his brother Alfredo, which left him a deep wound for the rest of his life. In the case of Manuel, what it reflects is the fight for the power with one brother that, as life itself demonstrates, ended up dramatically also for him.<\/p>\n

I personally like to believe that in some dimension of reality, their souls reconciled, that perhaps there was some accomplice planet that in the very last moment put in their minds and their hearts an affective and forgiving thought, whatever were the offense and the offender. Maybe the memories of both of them, of their love for the guitar, because they shared their knowledge and talent and because they were master and disciple, took them to friendly and common places of the history they lived and made them big in their own way.<\/p>\n

The truth is that both of them left a legacy to the world of the guitar that has contributed to what we have and enjoy as guitar makers and guitar players<\/strong>, and as fans of the guitar world too. The history goes on and I hope it continues from the conciliating crossroad where my father stopped in a moment to bring Manuel back home, to our roots.<\/p>\n

So I finish this writing reuniting Jos\u00e9 and Manuel. I am sure them both, far from grudges brought by misunderstandings and resentments caused by a decision that was lived as a betrayal, offence or injustice, would now see everything from the serene perspective of time that heals every wound; and they would be proud that their great-great-grandchildren keep on loving and developing the job Jos\u00e9 started when he was only 12 years old.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Written by Amalia Ramirez<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

November 2013<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Annotations<\/h4>\n

*<\/strong> For their collaboration thanks to: Pablo de la Cruz for his historic contribution about Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez and his friendship with Torres and his relationship with T\u00e1rrega. Anselmo Lanzas for providing me with the information about the brothers\u2019 two Tablao Guitars that he treasures in his collection. F\u00e9lix Manzanero for opening the doors of his workshop-shop to show us a really special guitar from his collection, the one that says in its label: \u2018Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta and brother\u2019 in La Cava Baja 24, that I mention in this article. Jos\u00e9 Juan Fern\u00e1ndez who discovered us Antonio Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta y Planet, guitar maker in La Rioja and brother of Jos\u00e9 and Manuel. I also thank Xos\u00e9 Crisanto because he is a rich source of information about this house due to his tireless investigation. Within the same field of investigation, I am grateful for the contribution of our friend Jos\u00e9 Juan Fern\u00e1ndez about the coming into stage of Antonio Ram\u00edrez de Galarreta y Planells, guitar maker in Logro\u00f1o. And of course, to Miguel Mart\u00ednez; he is not only lending us his memories of the history of this house, but he also came with us to F\u00e9lix Manzanero\u2019s workshop with his inventions to make excellent pictures of the inside part of the guitar of the \u201ccompulsive impressions\u201d of Manuel\u2019s stamp.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/h4>\n

Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez\u00a0About the Guitar<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0Ed. Casa Ram\u00edrez.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Romanillos Vega & Marian Harris Winspear\u00a0The Vihuela de Mano and the Spanish Guitar. A Dictionary of the Makers of Plucked and Bowed Musical Instruments of Spain (1200-2002).<\/em>\u00a0The Sanguino Press.<\/p>\n\n\t\t