By Alex Paramo
Update: Alex’s bilingual multimedia book, Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves, is now available in PRINT! Please click here for more info and to purchase! —–
I grew up in Jackson Height, Queens, NYC. It take roughly 60 minutes to travel from my “house” to the Theater District in Manhattan, where magic on the stage is in continuous flow. Funny thing is that my friends and I born and raised NYer’s, talk about where we lived in terms of “house” when most of us actually lived in apartments. And most of us did not have the pleasure of experiencing a play on Broadway. Why? Because most of us were from working-poor families and could not afford it. Broadway plays were not part of our paradigm.
Broadway Noise and Funk
The first Broadway show I attended was Bring in da’ Noise, Bring in da’ Funk. It was an exciting, multi-sensory experience! The music, the dancing, the ambiance was pure joy. Due to this first exposure to live theater, I developed a greater appreciation for actors, performers and the act of writing for a live performances. Since that time I have come to personally believe that playwriting is the highest writing form!
Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves
Leaving NYC was a big decision for me, as one would imagine. I missed my family of friends, 
my family, as well as the rhythm and the pace of the city. I first visited New Mexico to attend the Gathering of Nations PowWow. New Mexico, so enchanting with it’s beauty, lure and mysticism promised to deliver to me the life that I never imagined as a kid, walking up and down the crowded streets of NYC. It was during that first visit that I came into the acquaintance of two talented musicians, Matias Pizarro and Keith Sanchez, who along with Glenn ‘Buddha’ Benevidez and Todd Sanchez formed the phenomenal band Stoic Frame. I developed a fast friendship with both of them and admired their talents from afar until I moved to New Mexico.
Read more about Stoic Frame by clicking here
The Land of Enchantment
In New Mexico, the Universe delivered to me a gift named Marisol (Spanish for Sun and Sea), the Princess of My Soul. She was the spark that ignited the process that enabled me to share the story of Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves with everyone. Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves is based upon the real life characters: Marisol Paramo (Princess Marisol), Matias Pizarro and Juan Carlos Ramirez (the Moon Thieves) and their interactions. The fact that these two rock & roll musicians visiting from Los Angeles would spend part of their time making a little girl laugh was heartwarming.
To Laugh and Cry
Narrated by the amazing vocalist Jackie Zamora, and Illustrated by the immensely talented Audrey McNamara, my little Marisol executes the voice of Princess Marisol in this whimsical story about a little girl that discovers her voice – her confidence: and two mischevious musicians who steal the Moon. The soundtrack is a brilliant eclectic set of melodies by Diplomacy of Mad Science (Matias Pizarro and Juan Carlos Ramirez) featuring Latin, Electronica, Pop, African and Pop sounds to mention just a few. On page 23 Marisol, who was 5 at the time, sings! I have listened to it often and it often makes me cry tears of joy. I am so proud of my 7 year old Marisol, great granddaughter to a Navajo Medicine Man. She is bright, creative, articulate and full of a lifelong of ideas!
FUSION Theatre Company
When I first received a call from Dennis Gromelski, Executive Director of FUSION Theatre Company, I could not think straight. My mind was in a fog as I though to myself, “a professional theater company wants to take my story and make it into a play.” Not only that, Dennis informed me that award winning playwright Jen Silverman would be adapting my story for the stage! To top it off, my old friend Keith Sanchez would be writing the score for the play and performing it. For a guy from Queens, NYC, that never attended a Broadway play, the honor of my story being adapted for the stage is almost overwhelming.
When my time in this dimension comes to a close my Marisol can say two things with pride about her daddy: “he wrote a book about me that was made into a play” and “he taught me what God is: God is Love.”
Performance Schedule
Performance schedule and information can be found by clicking here. More information and to purchase my bilingual Multimedia Book can be found by clicking here.
*Article Originally Published in June of 2014
*****
I would like to thank everyone mentioned and a few others involved in the production of my multimedia story including but not limited to: super talented musical contributor Christian Orellana, my partner in life and love Yvette Sandoval and my mom who gave her all to put food on the table for me and my brothers. A special salute to all the wonderful sound engineers!
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Alex Paramo
Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.
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