Paloma Muñoz

If you haven't seen Paloma perform you don't know what you've been missing;

Argentinian dancer whose magnetic energy makes you follow her wherever she is on stage. Whole artist; dancer, singer, actress and acrobat. She says that while art is her calling, it is also her profession. "I was born for the arts because when I was very little I leaned towards it but I got to a point in my life where I had to make a decision and I chose a career in Visual Arts. It was both, and I don't regret it because thanks to that decision I came across theatre and many doors opened for me".

Tell us what was your first contact with the arts?

I started singing and playing the guitar when I was 8 years old. My oldest brother brought home a guitar one day, he started taking classes to learn how to play it, consequently I wanted to do the same, so he passed it to me and then I passed it to my little brother. It was something that happened between brothers even though it was me who kept doing it till the end. That was my first connection. I went to school and when I had the time I took singing lessons. When I was 14 years old I started dancing, but before that I used to focus on athletics and high jump. Once I started dancing I had a show one weekend and a singing one the next. Later, when I turned 18 I moved to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia where I started my career in Visual Arts and got involved with Musical Theatre combining dance and singing. I got that seed planted in me which was quickened into life in 3-4 years, then I thought New York was the perfect place to expand it. I still dance and sing separately but most of the time I do both in a play.

Why did you decide to leave Argentina, was it regarding the art over there?

No, I left Argentina first because of the school and second because my family moved repeatedly and I moved with them. But in fact I have always loved the art of Argentina and now that I live far away I feel more connected to it, for example, I learned to dance tango when I left.

How do you describe the art in Argentina?

Earthy, starting with the people who lived in the countryside surrounding a campfire with a guitar in hands. Passionate and dramatic. The drama in tango came up with the slaves, it has turbulent stories. The music and the dance of the natives. The national rock and even soccer are very rooted to the Argentinian culture. If you describe an Argentinian it is a person who is in love with its folklore and its roots. It is something that makes you being someone and to belong somewhere.

Tell us a little about your recent projects.

One is Curiosities, an immersive theatre piece which already finished and now we are working in the demo of the music band I sing with called Spanglish Fly. The album is ready but we are waiting until February to launch it in our concerts. Now, I am in that space between projects where I take advantage to train because we should never be waiting for things to happen.

What project have you felt more connected with?

I have two. One in Argentina which I made from scratch. It was precisely a show of tango. It was before I came to NY to study. I wrote it, prepared it, I was my own director and put it up with my friends. I said to myself I had to create this show as a proof of what I was capable of. It took off and it went better than expected. It was for free at the People's Theatre with 400 seats. I remember I went out that day to give out flyers and we got a full house. I still have the memory of the show that with no experience and not knowing a lot of things I made for myself and came up great. And the second one, it was In the Heights in Brooklyn, I have a sweet memory from it because it left me a sense of purpose and belonging to the music and rhythms of the play. Every night there was a moment in the play where the whole cast would hide backstage and cry.

Do you have any routine to concentrate or to prepare yourself for a show?

Yes, music. When I am in a show I play the songs in "loop" and listen to them all the time. Even though I don't have to memorize them listening to the music gives me a vision or a feeling and it surrounds me in the mood and the context of the project. But if I am in play where I have to memorize Shakespeare, there is no other way, I sit down to study and repeat it over and over. I rent a studio and put myself to work. I go prepared to the rehearsal for me not to get caught off guard because once you know what you have to do, you have more versatility to take directions.

Where do you get the inspiration from in your creation process?

Music and places as well. Looking into a theatre or a hall inspires me and makes me think, "Oh, I could do this here". Reading a novel and imagining how I can stage what I read in a certain place. But first, music. I make connections. I listen to music and connect a choreography or a dance piece and new ideas start to happen.

If you had to choose one discipline, which one would you choose?

Oh no! I can't believe you're asking me this, can I choose two? Dance and singing, what else?

What place do you feel safe the most and what are 3 things you would take with yourself?

I think of home, my parent's house in Misiones, Argentina. If not, I feel safe in a place called Samaipata, Bolivia. It's located in a mountain, people go there to relax, . Things that I would take, definitely "mate", somewhere to sleep on and a glass of Fernet with coke, oh, but I would need ice as well, I don't know! Ok, the first one is mate, the second one would be a coat or clothes and the third one would be someone in my family. I think it would be that.

Tell us about Spanglish Fly and how did you get in?

I got in by a tremendous chance. A friend said to me, "Look! I got an email for this kind of salsa band that is looking for a singer, are you interested?" and I said "Yeah, why not?". I got in touch with Jonathan, the band leader who asked me to prepare 2 songs for an audition and they loved it. At the end of the audition they asked me if I wanted to stay in the group because the other singer was pregnant and she had to leave. But then after a while the singer comes back and I think it was the moment for me to go, but something happened. As artists we don't only share our talent but also our personality. If you're cool, have a good sense of humor and a work ethic... I think they saw that in me or it could've been something else, I don't know. Jonathan spoke with Mariel, the other singer and she loved the idea of me staying to make a duo and the songs started to get better. We have an incredible time together when we're on stage. When I can't sing, she sings, and if she can't, I can; if not, we both do it. I have been with them for 1 year and a half already.

On the other hand, Boogaloo is a style of music that was born in New York City in the sixties. It got famous for 10 years and then it disappeared because salsa obtained more popularity. It was born out of a mix of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian salsa that came with the immigrants living in the Bronx and Harlem. It has that cuban son, merengue, and cha-cha mixed with Afro American rhythms like jazz, swing, soul and R&B. The term Boogaloo referring to the style of music was created among the same musicians. We sing some songs in spanish and english with salsa rhythms and some others with jazz. But it is born out of that mix and I love it because you get the freedom to play with any song.

We are approximately 14 musicians; 4 play the wind instruments (trumpet, trombone and 2 sax; 1 baritone and 1 alto) 4 percussionists, 1 pianist, 1 bass guitarist, a sonero who plays all the salsa parts plus 2 singers.

Do you feel any difference when you sing with the band to the music from Argentina?

Sometimes it feels like singing a song from Argentina because we sing in spanish and the songs talk about the land, culture and civilizations of the immigrants, the difference is that these ones talk about wider subjects.

Would you go back to Argentina?

Yes I would, because it is my home and the doors will be always open, even though they say the market and the entertainment industry are smaller you find the way. But my plans right now are in Europe, Spain probably. Looking for an opportunity and see where it takes me. The Netherlands for example, I have a friend who is a theatre director over there, it is small, but there's less competition and when you bring your passion and your being to a project new doors open.

What have been your biggest challenges?

Well, it is difficult to say. I've had bad experiences but I've always found a solution. With time I've discovered the biggest challenges are in myself. You are your biggest competitor because of the things you think. Sometimes I think I am not good or pretty enough for this industry, but I have to keep going. The importance is in being unique. Being yourself even though it is hard sometimes. It is the most difficult thing, especially when you want to start a project that comes from you is very hard. Sometimes I think "Do I deserve this? Why do so many good things happen to me?", and at the same time I think "Yes, I deserve it!"

What has been the most amazing thing that has happened to you outside of Argentina?

I appreciate so much living here, but at the same time I wouldn't die for it. I would be equally grateful if I lived somewhere else. Nevertheless, New York City has the best of the best, in any corner even in the subway you can hear the best drummer you have ever heard in your entire life. There is art everywhere from anywhere in the world and is continuously shared by everyone. You have access to so many cultures in one day. It's amazing!

How do you contribute with your art to society?

To show my culture through art, that way I am nurturing someone with something they don't know or haven't seen before. You plant a seed, good thoughts that over the time you help someone to do something. However I think that to be able to do so, the audience needs to have an open mind and the art we make needs to be relevant to be able to make a change even in the most difficult sectors. I feel that if we are performing in front of, for example Trump supporters, do not even bother. There was this time where we presented a working progress at the New York Theatre Workshop, it was a project I was choreographing and a friend of mine directing based on the life of the Nicaraguan artist Ruben Dario and his poems. The script was in english with music in spanish. We invited an audience to develop the project, among them there were people who only spoke english and some other who only spoke spanish, and what happened was very interesting. They said that when they heard the part of the language they didn't know, they felt isolated and unrelated to what was happening. A person next to me told me they didn't understand because they weren't open. An elderly person said that she would've preferred the songs to be in english because otherwise she couldn't understand the story. At the same time, a young person said that even though she couldn't understand the lyrics, she had understood the music and the emotion. The sweetness and the sound of the words took her to an emotion and gave her an idea. We thought that if people couldn't understand it was because they didn't want to or because it was out of their reach. There is always something to appreciate. There is a reason why visual, sound and musical language exist, and body language too.

Do you have any artistic heroes?

Yes I do, I have a few who change now and then but the ones that have stayed with me since the beginning are; Taty Kagerer, who now is in heaven. She is a beloved professor who taught me dance and everything I do I dedicate it to her, I love her very much. And Chiquito Christen, a singing professor, both from Argentina.

Do you have any hobbies?

I love to go out and walk to the river. Having mate with friends and playing the guitar. Climbing a tree and do some aerial art. I take classes and do new things. Everything has to do with art.

Do you have a fun fact?

Cooking, it relaxes me. I do not consider myself the best cook but when I have the food and the time, it calms me down. I feel I am in control of things. I don't do it very often even though I should. The reason is that when I do it, it's because I have the time to be at home with nothing else to do.

Follow Paloma to know more about her projects

www.palomamunoz.com

IG: palomammz

Facebook: @palomamariamunoz