Ted Ramirez

Ted Ramírez is Tucson's official troubadour as proclaimed by Tucson's Mayor and Council on December 17, 2001. The event was well attended and most notably by, Arizona folk music legends Travis Edmonson and Dolan Ellis. Ted is the recipient of the prestigious Arizona Culture Keeper Award presented in 2004 and is currently the Artist in Residence at the Tubac Presidio Historic Park located close to the US/Mexico Border in Southern Arizona.

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Ted is a direct descendant of the first Spanish families to settle in what is now the State of Arizona.

Ted is a musician, singer and songwriter performing a collection of authentic folk songs from Mexico and the American Southwest. He is the founder of the Santa Cruz River Band one of the region's most celebrated, and now retired musical groups. He is the creator of the popular statewide radio program "Sounds of Arizona", the program aired for ten years on KSAZ 580AM. Currently, Ted is actively recording and performing as a solo concert artist.

For folk music fans, Ted popularized the term "Southwestern Folk Music" folk music to describe a concert presentation of authentic story telling and folk music having a foundation of classic Mexican styles, e.g. son, huapango and corrido, mixed with American cowboy era ballads and poetry. The music style is performed by both, solo performers and musical groups using traditional Mexican folk instruments, e.g., the guitar, jarana, accordion, vihuela, guitarron, requinto, flute, harmonica, Mexican harp and strings.

Many of Ted's original compositions reflect Southwestern culture, they include: My Beloved Tucson, Look To Baboquivari, El Presidio, Red-tailed Hawk, Living on a Plain, Viva Tucson, Billy Stiles, Refugee Children, La Doña Del Pueblo, Across the Border, and Northern Star, aka (Taking Care of your Heart).