Review Fix Exclusive: Rafa Reyes Talks ‘A Mexican Affair’

Review Fix chats with singer and playwright Rafa Reyes, who discusses his cabaret production, “A Mexican Affair.”

About the Production:

A MEXICAN AFFAIR, 
Uniting Mexico and USA through Music

Created and performed by
RAFA REYES

With new arrangements by Musical Director FELIPE FOURNIER

Directed by JEREMY WILLIAMS

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
SAT, APRIL  8 AT 7:00 PM
THU, APRIL 20 AT 9:30 PM

THE METROPOLITAN ROOM

FOR TICKETS VISIT METROPOLITANROOM.COM

Review Fix: What was the inspiration behind A Mexican Affair?

Rafa Reyes: It was exciting to find so much influence of Mexican culture in American music and to discover old recordings of classic Mexican songs by great American artists. It is beautiful as well to see how much people appreciate this influence, sometimes unaware of its origin. It was lovely to see as well Ricardo Montalbán in movies with Cyd Charisse and Esther Williams, and to look at the stories and fantasies that inspired songwriters, filmmakers and animators to create pieces like the musical Paint Your Wagon, the movies Fiesta, The Three Caballeros, and others. Music is certainly one of the most beautiful links between Mexico and the United States, and when I embrace that, I feel closer to my home country. Being proud of my heritage and my admiration for American music from early last century were big inspirations.

Review Fix: What are your creative goals here?

Reyes: The main goal has been to create a new sound of Mexican music influenced by Latin and American Jazz. Musical director, Felipe Fournier and I have worked in creating a new blend of classic boleros and songs written by Mexican composers with music written by American composers, uniting them through Jazz. His arrangements bring influences of various rhythms from Latin America to The Great American Songbook, and influences from American Jazz to popular Mexican songs. I want this fusion of musical styles and the stories in the show to represent the positive impact that Mexico and Mexicans have in American culture, society and economy. I want to break stereotypes about what it is to be an immigrant and a Mexican worker living in the United States, and through this new music style celebrate and showcase the connection and love between Mexico and the U.S.

Review Fix: Who do you think will be affected by seeing A Mexican Affair the most?

Reyes: Many people: Jazz lovers, immigrants and people connected to the immigrant experience, older generations who grew up with this music, younger generations who discover it for the first time. Anyone who wants to fall in love and wants more love in the world.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Reyes: I want people to leave the show humming these songs and touched by the influence of Mexico in The Great American Songbook. I want this show to awake in people the desire to travel to Mexico. I want this show to inspire people to spice up their lives with a bit of Mexican attitude towards life, always keeping a sense of humor, working hard, holding on to your family values, being romantic and not being afraid of pursuing your dreams.

Review Fix: What’s next for you?

Reyes: Recording an album and making music videos for A Mexican Affair. We are working on more performances in New York and touring to continue bringing this music to many audiences around the world.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Reyes: I recently joined a new dance company that is working on a fusion of styles from Mexican folklore with modern dance. It is a great team, and I find exciting that more artists are interested in exploring these two different cultures and blending them into a new concept. I’m excited to work with them and explore this new project.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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