Mireya Ramos and the Poor Choices to bring cross-cultural concert to town

Mireya Ramos and the Poor Choices will be making an appearance in Wickenburg in March, performing songs that fuse the Mexican genre of ranchera with western country music and other styles.

The group began as an experiment in 2018, later evolving into what it is now. While the public-facing name of the band is Mireya Ramos and the Poor Choices, they also presented a program and
recording called Sin Fronteras. Ramos is the lead vocalist, and she performs alongside Calvin Arsenia,
Beau Bledsoe, Ezgi Karakus, Marco Pascolini, John Currey and Jeff Freling.

Bledsoe, who met Ramos through the non-profit performing arts group he founded in Kansas City, is the group’s music director. He started out hosting a yearly concert series called Ensemble Iberica, which focuses on Latin music from Spain, Portugal and other places.

The group would also put on a monthly gig during which they played honky-tonk music, and during those shows, Ramos would come up and sing in Spanish with the group. While Bledsoe said the blend might seem like a huge cultural leap, it is easy for the two genres to merge. Overall, the group is a collaboration that celebrates the rich musical traditions of the U.S.-Mexico border, blending genres
like ranchera, jarocho, bluegrass, jazz and country.

“Cultural empathy is kind of implicit in the project,” Bledsoe said. “The U.S. and Mexico have been in a cultural love embrace for centuries and have influenced one another, especially musically, and it’s right there on the surface to hear.”

Although they had intended to start touring earlier, Bledsoe said the
pandemic got in the way of their plans, and they began touring nationally in January 2025. Bledsoe
himself has toured extensively throughout Europe, Russia, South America and North America, producing
over a dozen recordings under his recording label. Bledsoe said his favorite thing about touring is
the rehearsals, especially when they are out touring in rural areas and can go camping or be out in
nature and really connect while preparing for shows.

The band will be performing at the Del E. Webb Center on Friday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. The group will play a mix of old honky-tonk music, more traditional ranchera music and other new compositions.

“We hope that people come away with some kind of feeling of unification, which is really important
right now,” Bledsoe said.