What started out as the Brazos Banditos, a competitive reenacting group, became Ramirena Creek Productions, a group taking on more than just live performances through film and acting gigs.
Jason Ramirez, a Bryan College Station native and Texas A&M graduate, class of 2004, is the founder and owner of Ramirena Creek Productions.
“When I was a little kid I [had] always been fascinated with the Old West,” says Ramirez. “I guess when I was about 11 or 12 years old, I had gone to Six Flags in Texas and I saw some guys doing gun acts out in the street portraying the Old West, and I loved it.”
When Ramirez transferred to Texas A&M around 2001, he got involved with Tombstone Texas, an Old West performance experience that was active during the offseason of Santa’s Wonderland.
“I got involved with them and started doing different roles and did some directing, and we kind of just took it up a notch,” says Ramirez about himself and the group, then the Brazos Banditos, and their time with Tombstone Texas. “Some of the guys that were involved, I said to them, ‘Hey we’re doing really good at this. Maybe we can start a troupe,’ so we did.”
The group became a part of the Reenactment Guild of America at the time, where they discovered reenacting competitions. These competitions allowed the groups to put on a ‘living history’ skit where they were judged on the accuracy of their show and how safe it was when they used firearms in their performance, describes Ramirez.
“It was great to be involved with them,” says Ramirez. “What’s interesting is that it was more about the theatrics, but we also learned that reenacting was more than just entertainment; it was interest in the history.”
Reenacting is dressing up, as closely as you possibly can, as those in a certain period and doing an act that person would have done at that time. “It’s kind of like putting on a persona,” says Ramirez.
Living history can be used a little bit more broadly. Instead of reenacting one event, you are embodying a persona of whoever could have existed and then giving an “impression,” as it’s called in the acting world, says Ramirez.
As the group moved into performance of living history, they were introduced to film acting by other participants in the hobby who started approaching them with various on-screen opportunities. The first movie the group participated in as Ramirena Creek Productions was a film called Six Guns, says Ramirez. This allowed the group to collect wardrobe and props and even gain more opportunities, but after the experience Ramirez realized the historical inaccuracy of what they were doing and wanted to try on their own, he explained.
“It didn’t really sit well with me or with a lot of us,” says Ramirez. “So, we started making our own films.”
Their first film they put out is called 4 Horses, a short, western film in which they collaborated with other actors from the Reenactment Guild. In light of its success, they began working on other film projects. Their latest film, Cruzado, is a feature-length film expected to premiere this summer, says Ramirez. People can follow this production on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RamirenaCreek.
Since the shift of the group’s activities, they now rarely do live performances. They can do performances for the public, but the group aims to appeal to those interested in history and wanting to immerse themselves in it, says Ramirez.
“A lot of times we have what they call ‘campaigns,’ which are fully [immersing],” says Ramirez. “This is only for reenactors; there are no audience. The idea is to live the history like it was.”
Primarily the group is active privately in these deals or film production, says Ramirez. A lot of members who have been involved in Ramirena Creek Productions went into film, turn to acting, producing, and even cinematography, he says.
“This hobby is alive and well in Bryan College Station,” says Ramirez.
Anyone who is interested history and wants to participate in this hobby can contact Ramirena Creek Productions. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/RamirenaCreek.
“It gives you an opportunity to learn the history and fall in love with it,” says Ramirez. “You learn things that the history books don’t teach you.”
