South Florida - Latinos have a long and colorful history on the Great White Way. Hit Broadway shows like "West Side Story", "Man of LaMancha", "Evita" and "In the Heights" have thrilled audiences across the globe. Now, Puerto Rican born cabaret star Carla Bordonada performs some of those show's greatest hits; "Somewhere", "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", "Impossible Dream" and more, with a voice that sounds gorgeous in any language. The show is mostly in English, with un poco de especias latinas! BroadwayGlobal shares an exclusive look behind the scenes of this special Broadway concert for South Florida arts lovers.
"Carla Bardonada proves the Latino community supports Broadway." BroadwayGlobal.
"A voice that thrills audiences!" -DECO DRIVE.
"Increíble talento!" -El Nuevo Herald.
HOW DID "CANCIONES DE BROADWAY" COME ABOUT? "David Sexton and Rick Leonard were discussing with Jeff Kiltie the possibility of creating a cabaret series of shows for the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center. Seeking variety for the series, and considering there is a very large Latino community in South Florida, they thought it would be a great idea to do a show that celebrated Latino culture on Broadway. I am born and raised in Puerto Rico, and moved to Miami in 2006, where I have been working as a piano bar and cabaret singer with Rick ever since, and lucky for me, they thought I was the right fit for the show."
WHAT IS THE SHOW ABOUT? "Canciones de Broadway" celebrates -- in a very comprehensive and perhaps to some, surprising way the many wonderful Latino performers, Latino roles and also Latino-inspired music on Broadway, from the '50s to today. The show is in English, but we decided to do a song in Spanglish here, and a little Spanish phrase there, to spice it up and make it more interesting."
HOW IS PERFORMING HERE DIFFERENT THAN PERFORMING IN PUERTO RICO? "Mainly, the difference lies in language. Being that the Puerto Rico is a U.S. Commonwealth, English is taught as a second language from Kindergarten onwards in schools, and the media supports American music and film in English. However, the majority of straight, non-musical theatre is almost always in Spanish, and music concerts of local artists are always in Spanish. Since about 4 years ago, though, there has been a huge Broadway boom in the Island, so there now are several small theatre companies producing Broadway musicals fully in English. But when I lived there, and did Musical Theatre and some T.V. hosting, it was exclusively in Spanish. I also worked the local live music scene as a Pop and Rock cover singer, doing mostly material in English, but the part of addressing the crowd would always be in Spanish. I love about performing in South Florida that you get people from so many diverse cultural backgrounds, it enriches you both musically and personally."
WHICH PERFORMERS HAVE BEEN INSPIRATIONAL TO YOU AND IN WHAT WAY? "I think I'm best defined as someone who started out as a Pop vocalist and evolved into Musical Theatre, so my first idols were all mainstream divas. I've always been a fan of powerhouse vocals, and Puerto Rico has quite a few remarkable singers, some whom I learned about through my parents and still love, such as Ednita Nazario and Yolandita Monge, and some European singers, like the Spaniard Rocío Dúrcal. But I identified my style more with certain singers I watched on MTV growing up: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Céline Dion -- a.k.a. my Holy Trinity. I would karaoke for hours every day in my room after school, trying to perfect every vocal run and expand my range. During my first trip to New York in 2004, I fell in love with Idina Menzel's overall talent, after seeing her in the musical "WICKED". A few years later, while doing cabaret and piano bar in South Florida, I studied Linda Eder, who to me is just sheer perfection, and one of my favorite Musical Theatre vocalists today. I am moved by Judy Garland, and wish I could move people the way she did."
WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU AS A PERFORMER? "Keep getting better and growing! Becoming involved in projects in which I can use my potential and expand it as well."
"Theatre Chat ask our Latin community of Broadway lovers to share this two night only event. You don't have to be Latin to enjoy Carla Bardonada's beautiful vocal talents."
Aventura Arts and Cultural Center presents "CANCIONES DE BROADWAY" February 15, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. and February 16, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Aventura Arts and Cultural Center is located at 3385 NE 188th Street, Aventura, Florida 33180. Visit www.aventuracenter.org for ticket and season information.
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