I can still remember the first time I heard Mandy Gonzalez sing. It was on the “In the Heights” Broadway cast recording, and the first song I listened to was “Breathe.”
It’s still one of my favorite songs to this day. That has a lot to do with composer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s melodies, but also with the way Gonzalez’s powerful performance captures the anxiety and pain of feeling like you’ve somehow let everyone you love down despite your best intentions – a feeling that, as an overachieving teenager myself, I felt acutely familiar with.
Since “In the Heights,” which broke barriers on Broadway with a fully Latin story told by Latin artists, Gonzalez has appeared in Broadway productions of “Wicked” and “Hamilton.” After a fight against breast cancer (she was declared cancer-free in 2020) and the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to Broadway as Norma Desmond in 2024. Now, she’s starring in “Basura,” a new musical running at the Alliance Theatre through July 12.
“Basura” features music and lyrics from Grammy-winning artist Gloria Estefan and her daughter, Emily Estefan, and a book from Karen Zacarías. Directed by Michael Greif, “Basura” is based on the true story of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a children’s orchestra in Asunción, Paraguay, where the musicians play instruments made from scrap materials from a nearby landfill. Gonzalez plays Mónica, the strong-willed and overprotective single mother of the show’s protagonist, Nambí (Jaci Calderon).
As the show heads into its last week, I caught up with Gonzalez to talk about her journey to the show, and what it means to tell this story. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To jump straight into “Basura,” can you talk a little bit about how you came on to this project and where it started for you?
Mandy Gonzalez: About two and a half years ago, I think, is when I got a call about the project from my agents, that they wanted me to be in the room. At that time they said, “Gloria Estefan.” And I was like, “Yeah!” I remember [“Basura” musical supervisor] Alex Lacamoire calling me – because we’d worked together on two different projects, “In the Heights” and “Hamilton” – and he’s like, “We don’t really have a part for you yet, but there’s one coming. Would you be cool just being in the room and singing with us?” An I was like, “Yeah!”
I just felt right from the beginning. What Karen had written, and what Gloria and Emily had written, and then Michael Greif – he’s the one that puts it all together – I thought it was really something special. So I was so happy to be in the room and to add my voice in support of this project. After that, as it goes – they call you, and they say, “Okay, we’re going to do another reading, and this time your part is this.” And I said yes again. My schedule allowed for it, thank goodness. I went into the room, and they had really built a really solid story. After that, we did a workshop of it, which means you put choreography [in it] … and you put it up and see what it is in front of investors and people in New York. I just, again, thought, “This story is growing and becoming so, so special and unique.”
We did another workshop before this production happened, to put it in better shape. It’s just been a path of growth, and that’s what it is when you’re creating a new musical. People don’t always realize how long it takes. It’s a total process. But I absolutely love it. I love being in the room, and I love that nothing happens without somebody else. That’s what I love about theater, is the community.
When I was asked to come and put it up at the Alliance to see what it is, to see what we have – I jumped, and I said yes. It’s the first time I’ve been away from my family this long, for three months. But I just left like this was a project that is so special, I couldn’t say no. My daughter is 14, and now when I make these kinds of decisions about work and things like that, it takes a lot of time away from my family. So I sit down with her, and we talk about it. I told her about the project, and she looked at me, and she said, “You have to do it, mom.” So it felt like I had their support. But when you arrive in a new city without your family … you’re kind of like, “Did I make the right move?” Then, you get in the room, and you start the work, and you’re like – absolutely I made the right move. It’s a great, great process. I’m really sad that we only have a week and a half of performances [left], but I feel proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish here. I’m proud to be doing it in Atlanta at the Alliance. They’re such a reputable theater, and they’ve been nothing but supportive and gracious with us.
And hopefully, there’s some good news for the show down the line.
Gonzalez: Yeah, hopefully! But we can only be in the now. But I do feel like this story is so important, especially for this time. It’s such an inspiring story, and there are so many different layers to it. But in the end, I feel like you leave feeling really good. I think there’s absolutely space for that, and I think it’s one of those stories that can transform you and your thinking in some small way.
Yeah – I’d never heard of it before, so it was all brand new to me.
Gonzalez: You know, we’ve been able to meet with the actual orchestra from Paraguay here. And to meet Favio – who is the teacher, Mario [in real life] – he was talking with us, and he said, “Just because you have nothing doesn’t mean you can’t do something.” Who doesn’t need that message right now? When you do feel a little bit helpless when it comes to the bigger picture? What you do in your community really can have an impact. It’s been so good for my heart, this show.
You mentioned when you first came on, Alex Lacamoire was like, there’s not really a character for you yet, but we want you to be here. I’d love to get more into the nitty gritty of what that’s like – obviously, you have a character now. But what was the process of building her out, and how instrumental are you in that process? What was the collaboration like?
Gonzalez: Well, she definitely was a character. It was going to be [Nambí’s] mom. But they didn’t know how they wanted to weave that story within the story of the students. As an artist and as an actor, you definitely have a say when it comes to that process, and whether that gets put into the story that they end up building. I think that with Michael Greif and Karen Zacarías, I’ve been able to talk about things as a mother, as an actor, that I really wanted to make this character. I think they do it so, so beautifully – so relatable, and accessible to people in the audience to understand what it’s like to be a mother, to be a mother in poverty, to be a mother that is a single mom that would do anything for her child.
I think [about] my own life, coming from a family of working parents, but also coming from Mexican immigrants as grandparents, and watching them. They worked in the orange groves, and they picked fruit. They lived in this little shack on the farm with my father and six of his siblings. To see that, and to be immersed in that as a child, that is something that I bring to Mónica, to her story. Thinking about my abuelita, and how hard she worked – it’s crazy, when you think about it. She picked right alongside my grandfather, but she also had to make all the food for lunches and dinner. And it was food that she had to make from scratch, like tortillas. They had chickens, and all those kinds of things. But to bring that to this story for myself, and also what it’s like to go through trauma when you are poor, and you are somewhere where they don’t talk about those things. It doesn’t mean that people don’t go through that, and people aren’t going through that human condition. I think that Karen has done such a beautiful job of bringing this character to the forefront, because their stories need to be told, and they’re so often the people that get forgotten. You just see them as the person that does this for you, or does that for you – there’s a full-fledged human living these lives.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about the mother-daughter relationship – I feel like oftentimes when it’s a story that is mainly told from the kid’s point of view, as this is, that the story can be a little lopsided in the conflict. But I feel like you really understand where Mónica is coming from. I love the duet they have together at the end. I’m curious, do you have a favorite moment in the show?
Gonzalez: I mean, so many moments with the students on stage are my favorite, but I don’t get to really be there. But my favorite moment is that first scene that I have with Nambí, which really creates our dynamic as mother-daughter. Then, to listen to her sing that song, “I Want to Fly” – I listen to her every night, and it brings so many memories. This is people’s first introduction to her [as a character], and also to [actor] Jaci Calderon and her voice. This is the beginning of her career, and to be a witness to that – it’s something you can’t really explain in words. I know it so well, because I’ve been that person, and to see it now from this point of view, and to watch her fly, it’s really one of my favorite, favorite moments in the show.
It’s interesting you bring that up, watching her career start. I’ve been reading interviews with you, and you’ve talked a lot about how “In the Heights” was one of the first times you’d been onstage with an all Latino cast. And now, that’s happening again, and it’s happening for her, as well. How does that feel, coming back to that space, especially to tell this story?
Gonzalez: It feels like a very full moment for me as a person, as an actor, because of my own struggles in this business as a Latina, and the people that came before me – the people that opened doors for me, and that opened windows when the doors weren’t available. To see all of these young people come in and tell this story, but they’re coming in such a different energy than I feel we were in “In the Heights,” because so many doors have been opened for them because of things that I’ve done, things that my colleagues have done. It’s a beautiful thing to watch them fly in such an abandon of joy. They still have that struggle, and it’s different for them. I’m sure that they’ll have their own stories to tell in that way. But to hear their stories, and to sit with them, and to feel that they’ve had a bigger feeling of acceptance, is really beautiful. It’s a testament that things are changing, and the things I hoped for when I played Nina in “In the Heights” are happening.
There’s nobody that I think can tell a story through song better than Gloria, with this music because she knows it so well, and Emily, being such a force as a musician – really getting those Paraguayan harmonies and rhythms. For myself, being introduced to that, and these young people being introduced to it and soaking it in – I feel very proud to share the stage and to tell a Latin story. Because I think we tell this story, and it’s the same as “In the Heights.” People realize, “Oh – you’re not that different from me.” Especially at this time, because I think that we’re so [polarized] as Latinos in this country, and we have been for generations, as to the level of support that we get. To tell this story about basura – about trash – and to see what this community does with nothing, what they create. But I think it’s also, as Latinos, having to stand tall in the face of basura – in the face of how we do get treated, and how we are pushed to the side. The things that are happening on the news right now, it’s really heartbreaking. This story, I think, opens up to let others see that these people are human. They are not just to be thrown away, or put into a facility and sent somewhere. These people have dreams and goals, and I think our show really does that beautifully. Whether it’s our show or a show like “Real Women Have Curves,” or “In the Heights,” these shows are important because they’re part of the American story.
Obviously, 2008 had its own host of problems, but I think around the time “In the Heights” came out on Broadway, things probably felt a little more hopeful than they do now, in some ways. It’s an interesting comparison point, but also a depressing one.
Gonzalez: Oh, totally. I think that the thing that was so hopeful, that was so wonderful, is that we were all in the same room together. Usually in shows, it’s one person – one token – who gets to be in the show with everybody. And we fit in, and we have to find our place within that. I think with this, it was like, oh – we’re all Latinos, but we’re from different parts of the country, and we’re all from different countries. My father’s Mexican, my mother’s Jewish – we all had different backgrounds, but we could share that, and we didn’t have to explain it. It was like we just got it, you know?
With this, these kids have grown up on “In the Heights.” That’s a beautiful thing, because they always felt like it was possible. I had to search for people. I had to search for Priscilla Lopez in “A Chorus Line,” and go – oh my gosh, that’s a Latin story! She’s Latina! I can be like her. I think we found our own hope within our community. You know, nobody wanted to come see [“In the Heights.”] It was at this Off Broadway theater, it was really far to walk. We would put out flyers, and we’d say, “The show is 25 bucks, come and see it.” To see that these kids grew up on that album, to see what came from that – I feel so lucky.
It’s funny hearing you say that, just because – I mean, I guess I should say, “In the Heights” is one of my favorite things in the world. I remember when I got to college, I was in a musical theater group, and we all sat around and people said their favorite musicals. And so many people said “In the Heights.”
Gonzalez: Because it’s for everybody! It’s all of our stories, just our way of telling it. It’s the same with “Basura” – it’s all of our stories. We can relate to all of these characters in so many ways. We have differences, but they’re not that big, you know?
I wanted to touch on some of your other work as well. I know you took a hiatus from Broadway – you had some health issues, and COVID happened. But I feel like with “Sunset Boulevard,” and now this, and I know you’re touring a Lin-Manuel Miranda concert – how does it feel to be back? It feels like you’ve come back in full force, which is lovely to see.
Gonzalez: Thank you. And it makes me so happy that you are in theater, and that’s a root for you.
Oh yeah.
Gonzalez: That makes me so happy! I was that kid also, that joined a theater group and they were like, “Have you heard of ‘Miss Saigon?’” And I was like, “Oh my god!”
I feel so lucky to do what I love for a living, and I am somebody who continues to create. I did go through my health struggles – I had cancer. The first question was, will I be able to sing? Will I be able to perform? I think it’s such a big, big part of me, and “the show must go on” is rooted in my DNA. So to be able to do this and be healthy, I am so full of gratitude. At the same time, I say that it’s taught me so much about life, and that we are here for a small amount of time. Whatever it is that you want to do, go for it. Because nobody else is going to do it for you. Say yes to those projects that you think, I don’t know if it’s gonna [work out.] But hey – we went to the Alliance, and we had this time in life. I think, looking at this now, I got to be with my friends, like Alex Lacamoire and Michael Grief. I got to learn and become a part of this community with all of these young artists that are just beginning. It’s been such a beautiful journey so far, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
