Latin Grammy Award winning singer, composer and violinist Mireya Ramos brought her music and musicians to the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center on Friday. The warmth of her creamy contralto and her ardent, romantic Spanish language ballads evoked a rapturous response from the audience at the JAI, the La Jolla venue’s more intimate hall: indeed, the perfect room in which to savor the emotional depth of Ramos’ ballads.
Love is Ramos’ unwavering theme, but not—as she explained to her attentive audience at the beginning of her set—the breathless bloom of first love, but rather the love that bravely recovers from the loss of first love. Appropriately, she opened with her gentle, intense ballad “Ni un Segundo Mas,”
In her upbeat ballad “La Llama” (The Flame), she picked up her violin and fused a rippling instrumental trio with her trombonist Trevor Turla and trumpeter Ruth Nichols, well supported by keyboard maestro Joshy Soul, bassist Terin Ector, and percussionist Chris Sanchez. I was impressed with Ector’s jazzy solo elaborations on bass guitar. The same instrumental trio opened “Let Go and Love,” a tribute to the late Mexican singer José José, and when Ramos put down her violin, she gave compelling voice to its passionate themes and soaring melodic arcs.
Trombone virtuoso Trevor Turla offered some of his songs, including “Walk with Love,” a hard driving ballad that featured a splashy keyboard solo from Joshy Soul and, of course, an extravagant solo excursion for trombone. Turla’s upbeat “Too Late” opened up more jazz inspired variations for the fluent trombonist.
The popular Cuban bolero found its way throughout Latin America, and Ramos belted the bolero “Tus Tormentas” with the conviction this style requires, adding her spirited violin variations on the theme—icing on the cake! “Cuatro Vidas” offered a more relaxed romantic reverie still in the bolero style.
Ramos and her ensemble concluded their program with a cut from her most recent album, Guerrera, a rousing dance in the cumbia tradition.
This program was presented by the La Jolla Music Society at La Jolla’s Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center twice on December 5, 2025. The 5:30 p.m. program was attended for this review.