CISMALE, HE/HIM. Hey, is that MICHAEL CIMINO, no that is just BENITO RAMOS around Cypress Cove. I heard they are 24 years old, and their birthday is OCTOBER 3, 2001. They rest their heads on the COAST, but they can mainly be found working as a BARTENDER/MUSIC TECH/DJ at the SALTY COWBOY TEQUILERÍA and PIT MUSICIAN at the HARBOURLIGHT. Some say they are LOYAL, CREATIVE, CHARISMATIC and can be SENSITIVE, IMPULSIVE, SELF-SABOTAGING. If they had a theme song it would be "AGUA" by BOMBA ESTEREO. I hear they are a NATIVE, either way Cypress Cove is starting to feel like home.
BASICS
full name: Benito Mateo Ramos
nicknames: Ben, Benny (mostly used by family or people he really trusts)
age: 24
dob: October 3, 2001
hometown: Cypress Cove, Georgia
current location: Cypress Cove, Georgia
neighborhood: The Coast
occupation: Bartender / DJ / Sound tech at The Salty Cowboy Tequilería, Musician in the Harbourlight Theatre pit band
gender: Male
pronouns: He/Him
sexuality: Queer (not big on labels)
relationship status: Dating Bleu Hargrove
positive traits: Loyal, Creative, Charismatic
negative traits: Sensitive, Impulsive, Self-sabotaging
theme song: Agua by Bomba Estereo
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
face claim: Michael Cimino
hair color: Dark brown
eye color: Brown
height: 5'9
weight: 160 lbs
build: Lean, athletic
tattoos: None
piercings: Small silver hoop in left ear
FAMILY
mother: Angelica Ramos
father: Mateo Ramos
siblings: Esmeralda Ramos, Morgan Ramos
children: None
pets: None
BIOGRAPHY
Benito Mateo Ramos was born just minutes after his twin sister Esmeralda, loud from the start and already demanding attention. Where Esmeralda had a sharper edge to her personality, Benito was the emotional center of the two, expressive, restless, and always chasing whatever made the room feel alive. Music was the first thing that ever really held his attention.
His father, Mateo Ramos, brought Puerto Rican music into the house constantly. Salsa records spun in the kitchen, old boleros played during Sunday dinners, and the rhythms stuck to Benito early. By the time he was a teenager he could pick up instruments easily and had an instinctive understanding of sound mixing and live music. The family business, The Salty Cowboy Tequilería, became his playground.
The restaurant sits along the Coast, a bright Tex-Mex spot that blends tequila bar energy with live music nights and a steady stream of locals. As a teenager Benny learned to run soundboards before he could legally pour drinks. Eventually he grew into the role naturally, bartending some nights, DJing others, and managing the music setup whenever the restaurant hosts open mic nights or local bands. Some nights he’s behind the bar mixing margaritas. Other nights he’s the one behind the speakers making sure the music actually sounds good. And sometimes he’s the one on stage.
Benito plays guitar and sings when the open mic crowd is right, though he’ll claim he’s “not really a performer” even while doing it. Outside the restaurant, he also plays in the pit band for productions at the Harbourlight Theatre, another place where music lets him exist without needing to explain himself too much. A gig which thankfully helped him meet his boyfriend, Bleu Hargrove.
Family has always been the center of his life. He and Esmeralda move through the world with the kind of bond only twins understand, equal parts protective and chaotic. But the person Benny is most fiercely protective of is his younger brother Morgan, who joined the family through adoption. Morgan came out as trans a few years ago, and Benny has been one of his loudest supporters from the start, defending him without hesitation and making sure he always knows he belongs exactly as he is.
That loyalty runs through everything Benny does. It’s also the reason he sometimes burns himself out trying to be everything for everyone. Beneath his easy charm and constant joking is someone who feels things deeply, sometimes painfully so. Benito struggles with anxiety and the quiet fear that people only keep him around because he’s fun, because he makes things easier, because he keeps the energy up.
He’s the friend who makes everyone laugh. The brother who shows up without being asked. The musician who stays up until two in the morning layering tracks in his bedroom just to see if something beautiful might come out of it. He’s still figuring out where all of it might lead. For now, Benny is exactly where he’s always been, behind the bar, behind the soundboard, or under the stage lights of Harbourlight, trying to turn the noise in his head into something that sounds like music.