The 14th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama) will conclude on April 12th, with Dominican filmmaker Leticia Tonos hailed as having returned to form with her latest feature film, “Milly, Queen of Merengue.”
This is Tonos’ first attempt at creating a biomusical. She is best known for three dramas that represented the Dominican Republic at the Oscars. It began with his debut feature “Love Child” (“La hija Natural”), followed by “Cristo Rey” and “A State of Madness” (“Mis 500 Locos”).
“Milly, Queen of Merengue” centers on multiple Latin Grammy Award winner Milly Quesada, who flees civil war in her native Dominican Republic. With her family led by her strict father, she rebuilds her life in 1970s New York, teams up with her brother and sister to lead a band, and enjoys the explosion of Latin music. She was ultimately crowned Queen of Merengue and won a series of Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Excellence in Music Award at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards.
Quezada is an executive producer and former MediaPro Studios executive Leslie Cohen also told Variety: “‘Millie: Queen of Merengue’ celebrates musical tradition, resilience and the power of change, paying homage to an icon whose journey exemplifies perseverance and cultural pride.”
“It is an honor to reunite with Leticia Tonos and work with RMVISTAR to bring this beautiful film to audiences around the world,” she added, referring to the time she licensed Cristo Rey when she was an acquisitions executive at HBO. “Led by the extraordinary Sandy Hernandez, this is a fun, music-filled film that feels timely and deeply needed.”
Rose Marie Vega, founder and president of Los Angeles development and sales company RMVISTAR, and Morgana Studios executive Deisi Cruz-Sid will also serve as executive producers.
In an interview with Variety, Tonos reflected on how he embarked on his most ambitious project to date.
“Music has always been so important to Dominicans and the Caribbean in general, and I was struck by how our films have yet to fully embrace this powerful aspect of our identity around the world,” she mused. “I have always been fascinated by merengue and its contradictions. Merengue was once a musical genre considered a lower class, consumed only by the lower classes, but it has gradually risen to social status and become an undeniable symbol of our resilience.”
She decided to focus on Millie Quesada not only because of her music, but also because of her journey as an immigrant who had to deal with masculinity at the time as well as her immigrant experience in Washington Heights.
“What’s most surprising is that more than 50 years have passed since Millie first set foot on American soil, and many of the challenges she faced not only still exist, but are growing.”
To find an actress to play Milly Quesada, she eschewed open casting in favor of targeted outreach to theater professionals and an intensive search by the agency Yellow Casting. A few months later, she discovered Dominican-American singer Sandy Hernandez Cross (“Butterfly Roar”) on social media. Despite her limited singing experience, she quickly rose to prominence.
Tonos said that through coaching and rehearsals, she demonstrated her versatility in acting, singing and dancing, exceeding expectations and demonstrating the presence and expressiveness required for the lead role. “She is an actress with extraordinary interpretive and expressive powers. She commanded the camera and embodied the presence we were looking for in a lead role in this type of film.”
To secure the rights to Quesada’s story, Tonos simply called the actress, with whom she had collaborated on her 2018 film Juanita, directly.
Although a little hesitant at first, Quesada eventually gave Tonos the rights to tell his story and turn it into a musical biopic. “She was involved throughout the entire process, from the writing of the script to the recording sessions, and I must say she provided valuable feedback during the recording of the song with Sandy Hernandez. Even now, she continues to be involved in every aspect of the film, contributing with incredible generosity and courage, providing the kind of insight that makes the story all the more authentic.”
The hardest part was dealing with all the music copyrights and creating the soundtrack. This was a new and challenging task that involved obtaining licensing and meeting quality standards. Together with Alan Leshhorn and Janina Rosado, Latin Grammy Award-winning musical director and collaborator of Juan Luis Guerra, they worked hard to provide a soundtrack of the highest caliber.
“Then there was a whole process of translating the emotional layers into choreography and designing a choreographic language that in a way really helped move the story forward and express what was going on, rather than just being aesthetic or decorative at certain moments in the film. Together with choreographer Eric Guzman and cinematographer PJ Lopez, we made sure that the choreographed sequences not only showcased the beauty of our music and dance, but also moved the story forward,” Tonos said.
As it turns out, Quesada’s story is more than just a biomusical.
“The tone of the film is intentionally optimistic and positive, a very conscious decision that we believe is especially important at this time given the existence of Latin American culture today and the challenges it faces. There is an underlying thread throughout the story that speaks to deeper themes for those who want to engage with Latin American culture.”
IFF Panama will be held from April 9th to 12th.
Sandy Hernandez as Millie, Queen of Meringue. Courtesy of Linea Espiral Prods.
