The role of Abuela resonates with me because of my
immigrant background as well as the challenging experiences I have faced as a
person of unique ethnicity. My
grandparents on both sides of my family tree came from Old San Juan, Puerto
Rico and Alicante, Spain respectively.
I grew up in New York as a direct result of my Puerto
Rican grandmother’s desire for something better for her family. Meanwhile, my father’s parents emigrated
from Spain and lived in lower Manhattan.
It was there my parents met and married.
My paternal grandparents moved to Washington Heights around 1954, which
coincidentally is the setting of our musical.
These lines from the show sung by Nina in Act I, are
pretty much what I wondered throughout my entire childhood, the only difference
being that my mom and dad are from Mexico and Colombia, respectively. Let me be
the first to say how happy I am that they met. Not only because my entire
existence was contingent upon their meeting here in the U.S., but also because
they have built such a beautifully fulfilling life for me and my three
brothers. I literally owe them EVERYTHING.
I grew up in New York as a direct result of my Puerto
Rican grandmother’s desire for something better for her family. Meanwhile, my father’s parents emigrated
from Spain and lived in lower Manhattan.
It was there my parents met and married.
My paternal grandparents moved to Washington Heights around 1954, which
coincidentally is the setting of our musical.
As a child I would visit my grandparents in what would
become The Heights the setting of our musical but then was primarily a Jewish
community. Just imagine how my family
stuck out in this picture.
One of my earliest friendships was with Lou Alcindor
(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) who would become another success story from The Heights.
His family added yet another layer to the ethnic changes taking place in
Washington Heights.
I asked many questions as a school-aged child. I wanted to know why we looked so differently
from all those around us. My
grandparent’s neighborhood was absorbing many Cubans and Salvadorans. All of them with the same dream of my
parent’s family – opportunity and success!
My parents responded to my curiosity by telling me that we all come to
America to be safe. Even my character
Abuela, remembers a Cuba that was beautiful and willing to embrace all people.
These are the people I came from, and the many stories I
absorbed as a child now make sense to me.
The story of the new Washington Heights is our story – MY
STORY! I, like Abuela Claudia, have
passed down to my sons and their children the truthful, inspiring history of
our family’s experiences.
The character, Nina in our play, has a dream of bettering
herself; completing college just as I dreamed of being the first Puerto Rican
female mayor of Nueva York.
Dreams are what keep us alive. Dreams are what Abuela believes in even if
she doesn’t reap their rewards she knows that the power of her dream will
enable others to move out of the barrio like Vanessa in our play.
Never giving up – recalling the past with honor and
presenting a vision of the future – that’s Abuela Claudia’s sage advice. It is the mantra, I believe in, which
perpetuates in all Latino families of the working class; a mantra which
maintains our pride and moves us forward to the fulfillment of our dreams. Paciencia y Fe!
NATALIE COCA – RATTLED WITH EMOTION…
“When I was younger, I’d imagine what would happen if my
parents had stayed in Puerto Rico. Who would I be if I had never seen
Manhattan? If I’d lived in Puerto Rico with my people?”
These lines from the show sung by Nina in Act I, are
pretty much what I wondered throughout my entire childhood, the only difference
being that my mom and dad are from Mexico and Colombia, respectively. Let me be
the first to say how happy I am that they met. Not only because my entire
existence was contingent upon their meeting here in the U.S., but also because
they have built such a beautifully fulfilling life for me and my three
brothers. I literally owe them EVERYTHING.
Fast-forward to June of 2008 and my very first
introduction to IN THE HEIGHTS. After the cast performance of “96,000” at the
Tony Awards, I was hooked. So much so, that by the time Lin Manuel Miranda gave
his acceptance speech on stage, I was sitting proudly on my couch sobbing like
someone who had known him his entire life. I got online afterwards and
researched everything I could find out about the show. To be honest, I don’t
remember breathing AT ALL my first time listening to the soundtrack all the way
through. I couldn’t believe that there was a show that could so eloquently
articulate not just my story, but also my parent’s story, my grandparent’s
story, my teachers’ and friends’ stories. As a self-proclaimed musical theatre
snob, I was always one for the classics, but IN THE HEIGHTS simply hit it out
of the park for me. I was lucky enough to get to see the Original Broadway Cast
in New York that same summer and it really was magical. After that I prayed
almost nonstop for the day that I would get to audition for the show that made
me re-evaluate what it is to be a 1st generation Latina woman in the
U.S.
Finding out about the audition at Artes De La Rosa was a
dream. At callbacks you could sense how special the people were and how
exhilarating this entire project was going to be - I just knew that I had to be
a part of it! When I found out about my casting I think I went into a state of
shock. After my initial shrieks & squeals of excitement, I got lost in my
head thinking about the music, the costumes, choreography & most
importantly wondered about who my cast mates would be. Turns out they are some
of the fiercest talent the DFW has to offer –who knew!
I firmly believe that the choices we make every day, good
and bad, lead us to the places and people we are supposed to be. It is simply
not enough for me to say that I’m excited to be a part of this
production when the truth is everything inside of me rattles with emotion. I
don’t know how I got so lucky to be cast in THIS production with THESE people.
All I know is: I am beyond ready to not only bring this show to life, but to
give it life!
“I’m home!”
Xoxo,
Natalie
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