Extract
Guatemalan family of architects.
(b Santiago de Guatemala [now Antigua], March 15, 1703; d Santiago de Guatemala, c. 1780).
He was the son of the architect Sebastián Ramírez (b 25 Jan 1681), under whom he must have begun his career. José Manuel became prominent after the death (1741) of Diego de Porres, whom he replaced in 1743 as Arquitecto Mayor of Santiago de Guatemala (today Antigua). Among his works in Antigua are the plant and casemate of the Fábrica de la Pólvora (1730s), the Seminario Tridentino (c. 1758), and the Universidad de S Carlos (1763–73; now Museo Colonial); these last two incorporate cloisters of mixed arches, the first with columns and the second with pilasters. In the 1770s José Manuel handed over his works to his son (2) Bernardo Ramírez.
(b Santiago de Guatemala [now Antigua]...
