Stay in Mexico - Ópera 360º

Inana, a Guatemalan 15-year old refugee, reaches the US-Mexican border wall and joins a street dance community of asylum seekers in Tijuana. Through dance, she overcomes adversity and realizes her artistic talent. With greater confidence, she carries on with her journey. Stage of the Arts Artistic Director and Opera Librettist, Yuriria Fanjul, transposed the journeys of these asylum seekers into words, and commissioned an original composition to Mexican-Austrian opera composer Arturo Fuentes. The music was recorded by the UNAM Baroque Opera Orchestra and Choir in November 2021. Working in refugee camps in Tijuana, the Stage of the Arts team of theater creators, choreographers and performers have trained asylum seekers, who had no stage experience, in learning physical theater and street dance techniques. In this way, they were given the tools to share their stories through street dance and performance. The lead role is interpreted by Leslie Cruz, a performer from Tijuana, who also migrated to the USA as a child, and who performs a fictionalized story of several young migrants from Central America.