Music Union : Live Your Music

Text & Pictures by Mariana Knabben

Three weeks ago at the same Brazilian Day, walking from stand to stand, I stopped at this one because it got my full attention. I met a very friendly Brazilian actress, Mina Olivera, who was promoting her play. From the minute she started talking about the play, I immediately connected to some of her stories! Mina invited me to the opening night, last Friday, September 25th, which I went with a friend.

What a delightful evening! Full of memories of a great life back in Brazil, especially because of her music choices. It was in Downtown, in the Los Angeles Theatre Center that everything started. My friend and I got our tickets and found a good place to seat. The play begun at 8:30pm and all of the 300 seats were filled. I could tell that half of the audience were Brazilians, a very nice thing that made me feel like home.

The play begins with her dancing samba by the sound of “Aquele Abraço”, from Gilberto Gil. So cool that I almost got up of my seat and started dancing with her. I felt like I was in the Carnival, the big party celebrated in February every year. Carnival is the biggest party in Brazil and was part of my life until I was 24. I always loved the festivities, so for me relating to all the songs played during the play was easy. I knew all the lyrics, which only made even more special to me.

“LOL! Latina On The Loose” tells Mina’s story. She was born in Brazil, her father is a film maker and her mother work for United Nations. Because of that fact, she spent part of her formative years in Switzerland and in El Salvador before arriving in California as a teenager. She studied and graduated at UCLA Theatre School. Mina wrote the play and is the only actress on stage, performing at least seven characters between male and female.

The music presented in the play couldn’t be better chosen. From samba, to bossa nova, to hip hop, the wide selection was very enthusiastic. I know that even for her, was a huge difference. For every important moment in her life, she picked the right song, creating her life’s soundtrack.

I related to a lot of the situations presented as well as my friend, who isn’t Brazilian did too. The play is a comedy so from the first minute to the last we laughed and laughed and laughed. I laughed so hard that I cried. But don’t worry, this is something that runs in my family. On the top of all, Mina’s performance was stunning just like the songs. The evening was just amazing…just like I had thought in my mind but much more difficult to put in words…