I was honored to be selected as one of the Latino/a artists for Alliance Theatre's CREAR night, and part of that experience was getting to see Basura, the new musical with music by Gloria Estefan and her daughter Emily Estefan.
The show tells the true story of an orchestra in Paraguay made entirely from instruments built out of garbage pulled from a landfill. It's based on the documentary Landfill Harmonic, and watching it performed live was genuinely inspiring — the cast and musicians brought so much heart to it.
It turns out this show has become a real success since I saw it. The New York Times named it a "Top Show to See This Spring," and the creative team behind it is stacked — director Michael Greif (Rent, Dear Evan Hansen), playwright Karen Zacarías, and musical supervisor Alex Lacamoire, with a cast that includes Tony winner Mandy Gonzalez.
One moment that stuck with me: getting to meet the person whose music was the soundtrack to every family party growing up. That felt surreal in the best way.
Basura runs at Alliance Theatre through July 12, 2026. If you can still catch it, I highly recommend it.