Composer · 1921 – 2010
Ariel Ramirez
Biography
Ariel Ramírez (Santa Fe, 4 September 1921 – 18 February 2010) was an Argentine composer, pianist and musical director whose work brought the country’s folk traditions to international audiences. Early in his career he collected melodies in Jujuy and Tucumán, and later toured Europe with programmes of Argentine music. He founded his Compañía de Folclore in 1955 and also served as president of SADAIC, Argentina’s society of authors and composers.
His best-known work, Misa Criolla, sets the Mass in Spanish and draws on Argentine, Bolivian and Peruvian rhythms. Other major projects include Navidad nuestra, Los caudillos, Cantata sudamericana and Mujeres argentinas, created with writer Félix Luna. The latter includes Alfonsina y el mar, one of his most widely performed songs. Ramírez’s music unites distinctive regional rhythms with a melodic language that has reached listeners far beyond Argentina.