Name: Alex “Rami-chan” Ramirez
Title: Founder, Vamos Together
URL: https://vamos-together.org/
Hometown: Pinango, Venezuela
Years in Japan: 23
Q1: What first brought you to Japan in 2001, and what has kept you here?
I used to play Major League Baseball in the United States, and the money at that time was good, but I had bought a house there and I wanted to pay it off. The offer I got to play here in Japan was 10 times what I was making. I signed a one-year, one-option contract, and that was my original intention. But the Japanese people opened their arms to me and accepted me as one of their own from day one, and I knew that I belonged here.
Q2: You and your wife are the proud parents of four children, including a son with Down syndrome. What does being a dad mean to you?
When our oldest son, Kenji, was born in 2015, I was in my first year as a baseball manager, and I gave my first media interview in that role. I was happy to tell them about my son having Down syndrome, but afterwards I was pulled aside by one of the high-ranking bosses and told that I shouldn’t have talked about that. My reaction was, “Baseball is something that comes and goes; my son is for life. There will never be a time when I stop talking about Kenji-kun.”
Q3: You started your NPO, Vamos Together, to support people with special needs and their families. What inspired this?
We had participated in a couple of events for special needs people, but there was no integration. They were separated from kids without disabilities. My wife, Miho, and I thought this was complicating things for families — separating them rather than uniting them. We started talking about having something in which everyone can participate. I said: “Vamos! Let’s go!” and that became the inspiration for our NPO.
Q4: Please tell us about some of your activities.
The main event is our sports day, which was held in December last year on a cruise ship, in collaboration with MSC Cruises. We had over 100 people participating, and everyone got to explore the ship. We also have the Rami-chan Baseball Cup, an event for children ages 8 to 10. Last year we had 32 teams and over 550 kids. My son Kenji designs the shirts for the All-Star Team, which we put together with one player from each team in the Rami-chan Cup. Other initiatives include our cheerleading team, Vamos Cheer, and weekly training lessons at Miho’s gym in Yokohama, CrossFit Motomachi Bay, in which participants are both regular kids and special needs kids.
Q5: What other things have you been working on?
Vamos Together formed an official partnership with the city of Yokohama in 2023. When there is some kind of event, we can help with the planning and design, whether it’s for the arts, sports, education and so on. And in terms of businesses, my company Chuoa Trading Japan is importing specialty coffee, cacao and rum from Venezuela. I also co-own Havana 1950, a Cuban restaurant in Hiro, with live music every day. I particularly recommend the Rami-chan Highball, made with our rum!
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