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christie prades as gloria estefan, adriel flete and company photo by matthew murphy


stage


ON YOUR FEET! LA ABUELA CUENTA LA HISTORIA by tony reverditto


DEBRA CARDONA debra cardona


Based on the life story of Grammy-winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, Grammy- winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan, Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts will be presenting the hit Broadway musicalOn Your Feet! Gloria grew up in the Little Havana neighborhood of


Miami along with her mother, Gloria Fajardo and grand- mother, Consuelo García. She is introduced to Emilio by her grandmother when he was part of a group called the Miami Latin Boys. He invites Gloria to perform one of the songs she has written at an upcoming rehearsal—an idea she is initially resistant to—but with the urging from her grandmother she attends and from there the Miami Sound Machine was born. Much success follows with award-winning albums and grammy-winning songs, as well as extensive touring and just when they thought they had it all, they nearly lose everything. It was during one of their tours that Estefans’ bus is struck by a semi-truck during a snowstorm injuring Emilio and more seriously, Gloria, whose back is broken in the accident. She is flown to N.Y.C. for emergency spinal surgery and the musical chronicles her triumphant recovery and musical comeback. Christie Prades portrays Gloria and was born and


raised in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, and Mauricio Martinez, playing Gloria’s husband Emilio, is an award-winning actor and recording artist. Debra Cardona plays Gloria’s “Abuela,” grandmother and matriarch of the family (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).


The Rage Monthly chatted with Cardona about


the national tour so far. She spoke of her broad career and her favorite roles so


far. “It’s hard to pick just one. I would have to pick three and strangely enough, they’re all immigrants. Emma Goldman inRagtime was a role I wanted to play for years. It passionately speaks out for the poor and for workers’ rights and filled the part of myself that deeply believes in equality and justice. The other two are abuelas: Abuela Claudia in In the Heights and now Abuela Consuelo inOn Your Feet! Both have escaped Cuba and truly believe in the ‘American Dream.’ They’re both wonderful and funny characters and I channeled my own grandmothers into these women, which allows me to bring a bit of my Puerto Rican culture to the stage. Cardona discussed the most challenging and in turn


rewarding parts of touring nationally inOn Your Feet! “Being away from my husband and not having him here to share every moment of this experience with me. It’s also challenging to pick up and move to a new city every week; your day off is spent traveling, and each theatre backstage is different. You have a short time to figure out quick changes and backstage traffic before the first show of the week, but you become expert at it over the course of the tour. The most rewarding part is the audience’s reaction every night. You can see that the show has made an impact on them.” Consuelo was such an instrumental part of Gloria Estefan becoming a musical artist, we asked what


insights she pulled from to make the characterization more believable. “When I joined the company, I talked a lot to Alma Cuervo, who originated the role of Consuelo on Broadway. She told me some of the stories Gloria Estefan had told her about her grandmother. Gloria had written some beautiful things about Consuelo in a book about prominent Americans and their mentors. In the book she says that her abuela urged her to discover what made her happy and to then do it with all her energy and joy. Consuelo felt that the gift of music was something that must be shared for the good of others and that to succeed takes perseverance and an unwavering belief in what you are doing.” The Estefans’ came to this country to pursue their


dreams, Cardona discussed the similarities for those arriving currently and some counsel. “I would give them the same advice that Abuela Consuelo gives to Gloria: ‘Find what you love and do it with all your joy. It is not going to be easy and there will be gatekeepers, public opinion, and every sort of excuse being made for why you ‘can’t. But, if you truly believe in what you are doing, find a way to keep going. This is a country of immigrants, and always will be.’”


On Your Feet!runs Tuesday, August 21 through Sunday, September 2 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. For tickets and more information, call 714.556.2787 or go to scfta.org.


AUGUST 2018 |


AUGUST 2018 | RAGE monthlyRAGE monthly


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