Born into a family of Gitano (Romani) cattle traders, Ramón Montoya used earnings from working in the trade to purchase his first guitar.
He formed a partnership with the great flamenco cantaor (singer) Antonio Chacón that started in 1912 and lasted more than a decade.
These two were largely responsible for establishing the form of the various traditional flamenco cantes that are recognized today.
He eventually took the next logical step and began to play as a solo or lead performer in a concert setting.
His granddaughter, Rosa Montoya, is most known for introducing flamenco dance to most of California with her studio based in San Francisco.