Raul was born on December 20, 1950 in Torreón, Coahuíla, Mexico. He is the oldest son of Don Miguel Ojeda, Sr. who was the founder of Mariachi Tenampa. He is also the brother of Miguel Ojeda, Jr. and the nephew of Elias Ojeda both of whom are current members of Mariachi Tenampa. Raul is a third generation mariachi musician as both his father, and grandfather were mariachi violinists.
In 1965, at the age of 15, Raul relocated to Acúña, Coahuíla, Mexico along with his family. It was then that his music career started, as he began taking music lessons under the direction of his father. The first instrument he studied was the guitar. He then later proceeded to learn the vihuela and guitarra de golpe. He also took courses in Solfeo with Maestro Juan Rodriguez. He quickly found himself performing regularly at local bars and restaurants with Mariachi Alma Nacionál.
It wasn’t until he was 20 years old that he began playing the guitarrón and found that it was the instrument he enjoyed playing the most. In 1971 he moved to the state of New Mexico along with his father, uncle and brother to perform in Santa Fe with the newly formed Mariachi Tenampa which was then directed and lead by his father. Since then, he has developed and refined his technique and is now recognized as one of the best guitarrón players in the state of New Mexico. Raul’s secondary role in Mariachi Tenampa is as a lead vocalist. He is well-known for his powerful and broad-ranged voice and has a very extensive repertoire consisting of hundreds of songs. Because of his vocal abilities, he acts as both a soloist and first voice in chorus parts.
Since his teen years, Raul has accompanied many great artists on stage and in concert. He has had the honor of accompanying: Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Lucha Villa, Yolanda del Rio, Gerardo Reyes, Beatriz Adriana, Alicia Juarez, Juan Valentin, Chelo, Yesenia Flores, Ana Barbara, Maria de Lourdes, Lorenzo de Monteclaro, Lucha Morena y Jose Juan, Paquita la del Barrio, Alberto Vasquez, Angeles Ochoa, Lalo Rodriguez, Ruben Rodriguez, Salvador Robledo, El Charro Avitia, Juan Mendoza, Juan Saizar, Arturo Solis, El Piporro, Fernando Casanova, Julio Aleman, David Reynoso, Eleazar "Chelelo" Garcia, Irma Dorantes, Lorenzo Antonio, Sparx and many other local New Mexican artists.
Music education has always been important to Raul and he has shown that by participating as a music workshop instructor in more than 6 international and regional mariachi conferences held annually over the past 15 years. He feels it is important to pass along his culture as it was once passed along to him. Raul currently teaches armonia and vocal classes for the "Mariachi Y Mozart" music program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This program is fully funded by, and a division of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association.