Meet the Artists Behind 'Monarca,' the First Mexican-American Musical in LA

On Friday December 9th, the first Mexican-American Musical in LA will premiere at the Los Ángeles Theatre Center (LATC). We talked to the masterminds behind it, Alfonso Molina and Mayu Molina Lehmann. This is what they told us:

– What’s the story behind the creation of Monarca?

We noticed that despite the fact that we are 11 million Mexican immigrants in the US, there were no musical plays that told our story. And when we were portrayed in the media, Mexican immigrants and Hispanics in general, were portrayed in a negative light, without recognizing the many contributions we bring to this country. We wanted to create a Hispanic hero and portray the value that we add to the U.S.

– What’s the challenging part of doing musicals?

I (Alfonso) wanted to create a musical in the traditional way: meaning there is music from beginning to end, without interruption, like in the works by Sondheim, Bernstein, Lloyd Webber or Schonberg. Another challenge was to create a distinctive Mexican feel in the music without it feeling like a cliché. Finally, there was the challenge of recording the orchestra music without an orchestra. This was achieved thanks to the advances in technology, which allows you to record using a virtual orchestra. It is not the same as live music, but it is the closest you can get!

– Why the title ‘Monarca’?

The title refers to the Monarch butterfly, which is a constant migrant, in an endless journey between Mexico and the United States. When I started studying the life cycle of the Monarch, I realized (Mayu) that the lives of Monarchs resembled the life of immigrants. For example, the Monarchs who leave Mexico never return: they die as soon as they cross the Texas desert. However, they have laid eggs along the way. The second generation of Monarchs continue the journey north of the United States. And then, in an incredible feat, the third generation of Monarchs feels an overwhelming pull to fly back to the very same Mexican forest from where their ancestors came from. I found the similarities with the lives of immigrants to be striking and poetic. That is why we chose the title.

Monarch also refers to the determination of the Monarch butterfly, that is determined to achieve her fate against all odds, once again, as is the case with immigrants.

The play counts with an amazing cast and they shared their passion about the project as well:

“I love being in this show not only because it is a great challenge as an actor and singer, but also because it is the story of so many people who need to know that their lives and sacrifices matter. Being Latin to me means family values, friendships, union and an enormous drive to achieve dreams.” – Marco Salazar (Luis)

“Monarch has been an amazing journey for me as a latin actress because I have the opportunity to give voice to all the Latino community that struggles every day fighting for a place in american society. I love to be part of this amazing musical but what I love the most is that it is written, directed, and produced by increíble Mexican people who are trying to make a difference and create consciousness.” – Triana Marina

“Monarch gives me a chance to level up my craft as a performer. Being a cast member of a new musical production is exciting and a true honor, specially to represent the Mexican artistic community in the US. I believe that moving is as human as art itself. We – as a culture – created the concept of borders. But there are no borders when it comes to relationships or feelings. As artists, we are nomads. We move from one discipline to another; from project to project. It’s fulfilling to bring a story about people who’ve dreamed of better chances to live. There has been a new conversation on representation. On dignity of marginalised groups. Whatever characteristics made us different in the past, are celebrated in the present. However, there’s still a long road ahead and we are not going to let the door close again.”

– Tony Corrales (Officer Wright)

Meet the Artists Behind ‘Monarca,’ the First Mexican-American Musical in LA

– What’s the story behind the creation of Monarca?

– What’s the challenging part of doing musicals?

– Why the title ‘Monarca’?