Tony Valdovinos attends the preview of "Americano!"
on March 17 in New York.
He says he's excited for the musical based on his life to reach a new audience.
(CNN) --
Tony Valdovinos says he's having a hard time watching the musical about his life.
But there are many reasons why he expects you to.
"American!"
begins with one of the most painful moments of Valdovinos's youth: the day he tried to join the Marines at his high school in Arizona, but ended up learning that he was an undocumented immigrant and couldn't.
"For me it's not a show. It's really what happened. And seeing it in person is something that hurts," says Valdovinos.
That day everything changed for him.
The future he had dreamed of evaporated in an instant.
And his life took several turns that he did not expect.
advertising
Becoming the lead in a musical, says Valdovinos, is just the latest example.
Valdovinos, 31, is now a political consultant, and he is no stranger to sharing his story.
But now that "American!"
begins his off-Broadway journey, he hopes new audiences will learn from and be inspired by his experiences.
The coronavirus pandemic delayed the New York premiere of the show.
But Valdovinos says his message is more urgent than ever.
New musical by Barry Manilow gains relevance in the face of war in Ukraine
The day he found out he was undocumented marked an end and a beginning
Valdovinos still remembers the moment he asked his mother for the necessary paperwork to enlist in the Marines.
He was nearly 18 years old, and a military recruiter from his high school had just sent Valdovinos home after learning he was born in Mexico.
But Valdovinos had been dreaming of enlisting for years, since he saw the collapse of the Twin Towers on television, and he was determined to return to the recruiting office with the documents in hand.
"My mother started to break down. She started crying... ...Her whole demeanor changed. Her energy changed, her shoulders changed," Valdovinos says.
"And she told me the truth."
Valdovinos was born in Colima, Mexico, and was brought to the United States when he was two years old.
Before his mother's revelation of him the day he tried to enlist in the Marines, Valdovinos says he had no idea he was undocumented.
And after that day, he found himself suddenly unsure of his path in life.
That's where "Americano!" begins, but far from where the story ends.
Valdovinos' love for the US Marine Corps is a theme that runs through "Americano!"
and his life.
The musical goes on to portray Valdovinos' discovery of a new mission as a political manager and eventually founder of his own political consulting firm.
"Being part of the elections, even though I can't vote but being part of the organization, has been very gratifying... It's about a lot of honor," says Valdovinos.
"This is about helping our communities not be looked down upon and, above all, suppressed."
Eventually, he got a job as field director during Rubén Gallego's candidacy for Congress.
Gallego, now a Democratic congressman from Arizona, is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq.
And the way Valdovinos sees it, even though he never enlisted in the Marines, he did serve with one.
"Being told to leave by the Marine Corps was a very big experience. But...meeting a Marine, who taught me how to cut up political maps and knock on doors and tarps, was just as impactful. And I think that is "Americano!," says Valdovinos."It's a story of coming and going, but not giving up."
DACA protects you from deportation.
But his future is uncertain
Four years after the fateful day he learned he couldn't enlist in the Marines, Valdovinos' life changed again when the Obama administration announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012. DACA gave protection from deportation and work permits to Valdovinos and hundreds and thousands of other so-called
dreamers
, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
Almost a decade has passed since then.
Year after year, politicians on both sides of the aisle have said they would support legislation that gives
Dreamers
a chance to become legal permanent residents and, eventually, US citizens.
Growing up, Valdovinos says he often worked in his father's construction business.
Here construction workers are the center of a scene from "Americano!".
But efforts by the Biden administration to advance a path to citizenship have stalled.
And so have countless other proposals.
"We feel like professionals in limbo. Literally my entire life has passed, my entire youth has passed with me in politics, hoping we were going to get help or policy, and realizing that the country is no longer focused there." Valdovinos comments.
He says he hopes "Americano!"
"bring that conversation back up," in Washington and across the country.
A musical with boots on: "Kinky Boots"
commitment to the inclusion of LGBTQ communities
They see the show as a new avenue of activism
The 2020 schedule in Phoenix, he says, already appears to have opened some minds.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, described the performance as "powerful and inspiring."
And Valdovinos says he heard audience members leaving the theater saying they "had no idea
dreamers
existed."
The ability to reach new audiences was a big selling point, says Valdovinos, when a creative team at the Phoenix Theater Company approached him with the idea of writing a musical based on his life.
The theater reached out to him, he says, after hearing an interview on NPR about his work knocking on doors to reach Latino voters.
He never imagined that the story of his life could end on stage.
"I sat down with them for two hours almost seven years ago, and I told them the whole story of my life and my pains, my struggles, the things that inspired me, the things that happened, the things that didn't happen," he says.
"And they decided after a week that they wanted to put this into a production."
Years later, "American!"
premiered on the stage of that theater, with music by singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez.
“I realized that we can knock on doors forever and be scolded by people who don't support us, or that we have to beg people to care first,” says Valdovinos.
"But ultimately, when you see a movie or a piece of art that resonates with you, I think it's much more impactful."
Chicanos Por La Causa worked to help ensure the authenticity of Mexican-American portrayals as executive producer of "Americano!"
"We insisted on the authenticity of the Mexican-American culture and the authenticity of the Arizona part of the story. We didn't want there to be stereotypes," says Max Gonzales, executive vice president of the organization.
And Valdovinos isn't the only one hoping "Americano!"
help the story of
dreamers
like him reach a different audience.
That was one of the main things Max Gonzales says he had in mind when his organization, Chicanos Por La Causa, decided to invest $1.75 million to help finance the New York run of the show.
Chicanos Por La Causa is an Arizona-based nonprofit organization that focuses on community development.
And becoming an executive producer on "Americano!"
it's a big step for the organization, says Gonzales.
The arts, he says, can be an "innovative way of doing promotion."
There is a long history of linking the arts with political activism, he points out, such as the famous carvings of a skeleton holding a basket of grapes that highlighted the harsh conditions farmworkers face.
As Arizona voters prepare to weigh a ballot measure that would restore in-state tuition for
Dreamers
like Valdovinos, Gonzales says support for "Americano!"
is another important way to get the word out.
"We really wanted to have a part of the show because of its meaning and how compelling it was," he says.
"I am an American"
"American!"
officially premiered at New World Stages on May 1, and the show is scheduled to run until June 19.
From there, its promoters hope it will reach Broadway.
Regardless of what happens, Valdovinos says he's excited to see the show's message spread, even if the performances are too painful for him personally.
Tony Valdovinos (far right) with Sean Ewing, who plays Valdovinos onstage in "Americano!"
In one of the show's numbers, "Dreamer", Valdovinos's character -performed in Phoenix and now in New York by Sean Ewing- sings a ballad of belonging:
This is my home
my heart, my soul
Who can say that this great country that I swore to defend is no longer mine?
I am not alone
My roots are planted
Who can say that this great country that I swore to defend is no longer mine?
I am not alone
My roots are planted
All I've ever known is that I'm American
This is my home
It is a message that Valdovinos hopes will resonate beyond the political arena as well.
"I hope someone who comes close to at least the mindset I was in at the time, where everything seemed impossible, realizes that it's possible just by changing your perspective a little bit and having a little more of courage throughout your journey, regardless of where you are," he says.
You know how quickly luck can change.
And even if he's not in the audience, he'll be cheering for "Americano!"
have success.
DreamersUndocumented ImmigrantsMusical
