As stated, The Copla Musical is a ‘passionate and political tale of identity and freedom.’ The musical explores two characters through one passionate and talented actor Alejandro Postigo. The first character is a self-story that sets Postigo out on a journey of self-acceptance. The second character is  Spanish drag artist La Gitana.

The Copla Musical is an important historical and culturally piece for a variety of reasons. La Gitana escaped from Franco’s dictatorship in Spain during the civil war to perform her passion-filled Spanish folk music in America. She fled to America as she knew that she would not be safe in Spain as Franco had begun killing and persecuting minorities. Additionally, Copla as a music genre was actively oppressed during the Franco regime.  Alejandro Postigo claims that he created the musical because ‘I thought I would use this opportunity to tell the story of those drag artists and minorities that suffered exile and at the same time subverted Copla songs.’ Some Copla songs contained homosexual messages that had actually managed to get past the censorship.

Postigo draws comparisons between his self-story and the story of La Gitana as they are both LGBT Spanish individuals living outside of Spain who both miss Spain even though it is politically difficult for them. Postigo comments that ‘I am a gay immigrant pursuing his artistic passions in a turbulent political climate.’  Both people struggle with feeling understood by people within their lives who are important to them. A desire to travel back to Spain ends a romantic relationship for both Postigo and La Gitana. 

Through the play, Alejandro Postigo expresses a desire to bring La Gitana back into the history books that she was written out of during the Franco regime. He feels that her story of struggle, self-acceptance and artistic creativity deserves to be heard by others. For many of the songs in The Copla Musical, this show marks the first time they have been sung in English. Translating the songs into another language brings understanding of Copla and La Gitana not just back to Spain, but also to other countries.

Postigo’s dedication and passion can be both visually seen and felt throughout the musical by the audience.  This high level of dedication and commitment towards telling the story helps significantly in terms of understanding the story that is unfolding in front of you.  He is also a phenomenal singer and as a result, the audience loves to hear the Copla songs. 

The tying of a story from the 1940s to a story in the modern-day was genius as it demonstrates that while we have moved on from Franco’s regime there is still a distance to travel yet for the LGBTQ+ community in terms of world acceptance. It demonstrates the ongoing issues and struggles for those affected. 

I firmly believe that everybody should go and watch The Copla Musical as the issues are politically and culturally important. Everybody who chooses to watch the musical will walk away having learnt something new. Engaging with the musical helps to bring light on a figure who history has been determined to forget. 

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