May 12, 2024 • 58 mins
Jon Marcantoni is a Puerto Rican novelist and playwright. The author of five books, he won the 2017 Independent Book Award for Best Southeastern Fiction for his book Kings of 7th Avenue. After the success of his play Puerto Rican Nocturne, about the Cerro Maravilla murders and their aftermath, he founded Flamboyán Theatre in 2022. The company produces new Puerto Rican plays and seeks to build a creative hub for Denver's Puerto Rican community to celebrate their culture and stories, while utilizing multimedia and multi-modal forms of performance for a 21st century theatrical experience.
Summary:
Have you ever sat down with a storyteller whose words instantly teleport you to a world where every color, sound, and emotion is palpable? That's exactly what happened when Jon Marcantoni, a Puerto Rican powerhouse of a novelist and playwright, graced our podcast. With a life as vibrant as the streets of San Juan, Jon unveils the tapestry of his journey — from the military to mastering the art of Spanglish, all while keeping his abuela's legacy alive through his tales and the Flamboyán Theater.
As laughter and poignant memories interweave, Jon recounts the eclectic influences that shaped him: the wisdom of his late abuela Rosada, the cultural awakenings in the marina views of Fajardo, and the fiery spirit of the Vieques protests. These anecdotes are more than just stories; they're a testament to how personal history and the broader strokes of cultural and technological shifts can stir the pot of creativity, giving rise to a voice that's both authentic and relatable.
Navigating the intersection of art and business is no simple feat, yet Jon does so with the finesse of a seasoned playwright. He peels back the curtain to reveal the gritty realities of the publishing world and the theater scene, sharing pearls of wisdom on how to stay true to one's vision in a world that often seeks to commodify creativity. His journey teaches us that embracing our full identity is not just an act of self-love, but a key to unlocking doors previously thought closed. Strap in for an episode that's as much a masterclass in storytelling as it is a celebration of cultural richness and artistic integrity.
See more at www.successinspanglish.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Raul Lopez (00:04):
This is Raul Lopez, and you're listening to how Do
you Save Success in Spanglish?
The path to success isn't easyFor minorities and people of
color.
Many attempt this journey withlittle to no guidance.
Join me as I sit down withindividuals who share their
stories of perseverance so thattogether, we can learn how to
say success in Spanglish what'sgood, mi gente, welcome back.
(00:31):
It's your boy, raul.
Welcome to how Do you SaySuccess in Spanglish?
Today, my guest is JohnMarcantoni.
How's it going, john?
Hi, I'm doing great.
How are you Doing?
All right, man?
Thank you so much for takingthe time to be on here Just to
kind of give a little backgroundon John.
John Marcantoni is a PuertoRican novelist and playwright,
(00:55):
the author of five books.
He won the 2017 IndependenceBook Award for Best Southeastern
Fiction for his book Kings ofthe Seventh Avenue.
After the success of his playPuerto Rican Nocturne about the
Cerro Maravilla murders andtheir aftermath, he founded
Flamboyan Theater in 2022.
The company produces new PuertoRican plays and seeks to build
(01:19):
a creative hub for Denver'sPuerto Rican community to
celebrate their culture andstories while utilizing
multimedia and multi-moduleforms of performance for the
21st century theatricalexperience.
John, welcome to the show.
Jon Marcantoni (01:30):
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm really excited for it.
Raul Lopez (01:33):
Oh, thanks, man.
Yeah, and, like I said, whatwas great is, you know, I really
appreciate you reaching out tome and, you know, wanting to
share your story.
So I guess, to kind of startoff, tell me a little bit about
yourself.
You know who is John?
Jon Marcantoni (01:44):
your story.
So I guess, to kind of startoff, tell me a little bit about
yourself.
You know who is john?
Uh, well, you know I'm a fatherof three kids.
Um, my oldest is in college anduh, then I got two, two teens,
and, um, um, yeah, I believe youwere telling me your child is
(02:04):
10.
So, you know, I'm sure you'veheard all the warnings, but
actually I really love them.
They're 12 and 14, and they'returning into such creative, fun
kids.
But aside from all that, youknow I'm a huge movie nerd.
(02:26):
I'm one of those people thatsees all the Oscar movies.
So, like this, last weekend waslike my Christmas, basically,
and I also, you know, I've beenin Colorado since 2014,.
Actually coming up on my10-year anniversary, which is
(02:46):
kind of crazy to me.
I came out here in the Army,which is a whole experience, and
it's all due to the GreatRecession making life really
miserable for anybody whograduated in 2009, 2010, like I
did.
And you know I'm just yourregular crazy artistic guy.
(03:09):
I don't know what else to say.
Raul Lopez (03:12):
Nice.
No, thank you for that.
And I'm a big movie guy too.
So I just watched Dune 2 lastweekend, and you know I love all
types of movies.
Remain in the theater.
No, it's good, it's a reallygood movie.
So I guess you know.
My first question is you know,it seems like you've kind of
been all over the place.
You know, where did you grow up?
Jon Marcantoni (03:33):
Well, kind of all over.
I've been down the East Coast,but mostly in the South Georgia,
south Carolina Florida, georgia, south Carolina Florida Spent a
lot of time going back andforth from there to the island,
particularly to Fajardo and toGuadalajara, so it's kind of
(03:54):
like two sides of San Juan, andFajardo, for me, was always home
.
I was very, very close to mymother's parents, especially m y
abuela.
She was kind of more of amother to me, to be honest, but
(04:16):
yeah, her home in Fajardo iswhere I always called it to be
my hometown, even though I livedin Augusta, georgia, which is
mostly known for the Masters.
But yeah, it was very differentbeing Puerto Rican outside of
(04:44):
the normal enclaves that youusually think of Puerto Ricans
to be in, and I think that thatoffered me a unique experience
which I really treasure.
Raul Lopez (04:52):
Yeah, I mean Georgia .
Is there a big population ofPuerto Ricans in Georgia at all?
I know Florida is, but not.
Jon Marcantoni (04:59):
Not particularly Well, not that part of Georgia.
I mean Atlanta does land of itsown people, but you know, the
Latinos I was mostly around wereMexican-Americans, and also I
lived in kind of a strange placebecause my dad was an engineer,
(05:23):
or is an engineer, and heworked at a nuclear power plant
called Savannah Riverside andbeing a nuclear power plant, it
invited people from all over theworld.
So I had a lot of Asianclassmates, I had a lot of
African American classmates, alot of Indian classmates in
(05:47):
particular, and so it was verycosmopolitan.
For not being a verycosmopolitan place, I guess you
could say it was a small city,but it felt a little bit like
Queens.
You know some of those parts ofQueens you can go into where
you hear like 20 differentlanguages you didn't even know
(06:09):
existed, but it's one bigcommunity, like there are parts
of Augusta that are like thatand, just as a funny anecdote,
it's also why I'm one of the fewPuerto Ricans who loves spicy
food, but it always messes upAmericans, americans are like
(06:33):
what are you talking about?
Raul Lopez (06:34):
You're Caribbean.
Jon Marcantoni (06:34):
You have to love spicy food.
No, no, no, that's justJamaicans.
Aside from Jamaicans, the restof the food is savory and sweet.
It's not spicy whatsoever.
The rest of the food is savoryand sweet.
It's not spicy whatsoever.
But I had for a little while.
When I was a kid, we hadneighbors who were from South
India and they would invite usover all the time.
(06:57):
Wonderful family Invite us overall the time and got me
addicted to spices, got meaddicted to that curry.
You know so.
So you know it's.
It's done well for me.
Raul Lopez (07:11):
Now, living in colorado, um, my, my wonderful
girlfriend is mexican and itallows me to hang with her, if
nothing else yeah, it's funnythe way you mentioned that,
because I think it's, for Iremember the first time I went
to, one of the first times Iwent to this puerto rican
restaurant to have mofongo, uh,and it was in houston and there
(07:33):
was the owner, who was also thechef and cooking everything, and
he comes up to me and he goes,oh oh, try this pique.
I made this pique.
I made this pique and I'm like,oh, yeah, let me put it on.
And it was like the mostmildest hot sauce I've ever had.
I was just like, oh okay, no,it's good, it's good.
I'm peruvian, I know what spicymeans, but no, it's cool, it's,
(07:54):
you know.
Yeah, but it's hilarious theway that you mentioned that.
So that's awesome.
So, uh, I got my wife getting alittle more spicy too, because
she's Puerto Rican, so I'mgetting her used to some of the
Peruvian spices.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Jon Marcantoni (08:08):
Yeah, no, my sister-in-law is actually
Peruvian.
Oh nice, yeah.
So my brother married aPeruvian who he met in Germany,
Nice, we're all over the place,which is a great entryway to
just talk about.
Like you know, Puerto Ricansare like all island people are.
We are a gateway to the entireworld and I think that, more
(08:35):
than being citizens of any oneplace, we're citizens of the
entire world.
And that's one of the beautifulthings about us as a culture is
that we can let in all sorts ofpeople, appreciate the
different things about them,appreciate them as human beings,
and still maintain who we areintrinsically.
And I think that that issomething special with island
(08:56):
cultures that we welcome in themixture of different people and
different cultures.
Raul Lopez (09:02):
Yeah, I mean the fact that you guys are such a
melting pot that it allows youto be open to all sorts of, you
know, different cultures.
Because you guys have so manydifferent cultures, I mean
someone who's grown up his wholelife people thinking I'm Puerto
Rican.
You know what I mean.
You guys blend in everywhere.
It's great.
I love Puerto Rican.
I mean I married one.
I mean obviously one.
(09:32):
I mean obviously so.
It's been great.
And so I know now you run theFlamboyant Theater in Denver.
But I mean, did you have a?
Jon Marcantoni (09:36):
passion for the arts early on in your life.
Yeah, you know, when I was sixI started going to this school
in Georgia.
Funny enough, the drama teacherhad been my babysitter when we
had lived in Baltimorepreviously.
So I say I was living inGeorgia, when I was six.
(10:02):
It was the fifth place I hadlived in, so it's giving you an
idea of what my early, earlychildhood was.
So the elementary school that Iwent to it had a really good
arts program.
In fact it was a mandatory artsprogram we had to every week.
We had art classes, musicclasses and drama classes.
(10:23):
Every week.
We had art classes, musicclasses and drama classes, and
the drama teacher had actuallybeen my babysitter when we lived
in Baltimore.
We moved to Georgia fromBaltimore and that was actually
the fifth place that I had movedfrom by the age of six.
(10:43):
So I was all over the place.
Just to give you an idea ofwhat my childhood was like Were,
you guys moved because of likemilitary.
No no.
Well, what's?
funny is, my dad was in the Navy, but he got out before I was
born, like right before I wasborn.
He was just, he was an engineerand he was trying to move up
(11:08):
the ladder and so he would justtake, uh, whatever job would
help him in his career and thatmeant a lot of moving for us, um
.
But but in this elementaryschool, um, my drama teacher was
this really, really wonderfullady named Miss Thornton, and
(11:28):
she saw a lot of potential in meand I love drama class and I
really I had already started tobecome obsessed with books and
wanting to write my own stories.
I think the first short storythat I wrote that could be
called like an actual like storywas, um was when I was eight.
(11:52):
Um, I wrote I think it was avampire story is what I wrote.
Um I was.
I was very obsessed with horroralso at the time.
So, yeah, I immediately felt aconnection to and a warmth for
(12:12):
theater and also for literature,and I think that that passion
for it also invited certainadults in my life to see some
promise in me and I got pushedtoward that direction quite a
lot.
(12:33):
All throughout my childhood.
I had several teachers who Iremember.
This one.
She was my 11th grade Englishteacher and she was like I
remember her telling me she waslike John grade English teacher
and she was like I remember hertelling me she was like John,
you can write, like yeah,there's a lot of kids interested
in writing, but you have atalent, this is an actual thing
(12:54):
that you can do, and her beingincredibly encouraging.
And then, just you know, theaterbecame a home for me.
That's for a lot of kids,especially kids with
dysfunctional families, whichI'm totally open to talking
(13:15):
about.
I mean, it's just a part of whoI am.
It was a very chaotic householdthat I grew up in and theater
provided a sort of stability andtheater people being very
accepting and very nurturing.
I felt very safe in thatenvironment and the kinds of
(13:37):
mentors that I got in doingfirst community theater and then
regional theater theater andthen regional theater and
eventually, when I was 18, Iactually joined a professional
street street performance groupand we would do performances all
around town and first fridayevents and that was an amazing
(14:00):
experience to have as a youngperson.
But it all kind of started withhaving that support system so.
Raul Lopez (14:09):
So you said that the theater helped support uh, give
you support from yourdysfunctional lifestyle that you
were dealing with uh is it.
Was it one of those situationswhere it's like the less time
you were home and the more timeyou were doing theater stuff,
the better you felt?
Jon Marcantoni (14:25):
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly it.
I, you know, even like in highschool, being involved in
(14:47):
different theaters, andespecially the fact that I was
able to get roles outside oflike a school play and I was
doing things outside of justlike what school had to offer,
um got a big ego out of that andreally felt like I was an adult
.
That was one of those kids thatthat definitely, definitely
wanted to grow up.
I wasn't interested in stayinga kid, I wanted to already be
driving and going out to all theadult places and just being
(15:07):
around adults.
I was very obsessed with thatat the time and I felt special.
I felt special to, you know,when I was 18 years old, get
cast in a regional production ofAngels in America.
This is a very difficult play,it's a very advanced play for
any actor, and the fact that Igot cast as a character 10 years
(15:33):
older than me and that made mefeel special.
It made me feel like, okay, Imust really have something.
Raul Lopez (15:44):
And do you think the people that were part of this
theater group, the part of yourtheater life, helped influence
you to keep motivating, to keepsucceeding and doing more for
your life?
Jon Marcantoni (15:55):
Yeah, absolutely .
You know, I feel very fortunateto have been around very
ambitious people.
I feel very fortunate to havebeen around very ambitious
people and aside from that,aside from just the
encouragement that I got frompeers and from the community, my
(16:19):
parents have an incredible workethic.
And even if they didn't alwaysunderstand why I was doing the
things I was doing or why I wasso interested in the arts, I
(16:45):
think they did respect and stilldo respect the hustle and the
persistence that I have inpursuing the things that I want
to pursue, because that's howthey were.
You know, my mom was aneducator and had to overcome a
lot of sexism and racism.
Being an Afro-Puerto Ricanwoman, I never let that stop her
from expressing her opinionsand expressing what she felt was
(17:08):
the right way to teach kids.
She was a Spanish teacher, soshe really had no tolerance for
a white male administratortelling her how to teach Spanish
.
You know, how to teach her ownlanguage, you know.
And my dad my dad was someonewho, I mean he was very career
(17:31):
minded and very ambitious.
He was also very thoughtful,you know, as he became a manager
early on and actually a lot ofhis experiences as a manager and
as a leader in his own industryhas been very inspirational for
me and has inspired some of theways that I try to work with
(17:54):
people and try to be bothempathetic but still get the job
done.
So, you know, I think it's kindof in my blood to be a leader
and to be ambitious and then toalso get that encouragement from
the outside world.
It really made me feel like,okay, this isn't just in my head
(18:17):
, you know, it's not just methinking that I'm great, it's
other people are seeing that Ido have something to offer.
So I think it was a mix ofthose things.
Raul Lopez (18:28):
Nice, and you mentioned that your grandmother
was a big influence in your life.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your grandmother, sure?
Jon Marcantoni (18:37):
Yeah, so my abuela Rosada, she, I don't know
what to say I mean you know asan abuela.
she was just the sweetest, mostloving, most encouraging person
possible.
You know her and my abuelo, whounfortunately died when I was
(18:59):
six.
You know her and my abuelo, whounfortunately died when I was
six.
They got a house inFarhungville, overlooking a
marina actually, so it was juston a hillside and, as you can
imagine being a kid and likeseeing the sunrise over the
marina and being able to justplay out there in the marina and
(19:21):
, um, being able to, it's justplay out there and it's like the
palm trees and they have thislike big bean tree and you have
the ocean in the distance.
Um, it was a really idyllicplace and my abuela you know my
spanish wasn't very good growingup.
Um, I would say that by thetime I was a preteen, I could
(19:44):
have a very basic conversationin Spanish, but I didn't become
fluent until after she had died.
She died when I was 19.
And yet we still communicatedand she helped me with my
Spanish a bit, I helped her alittle bit with English, and
(20:08):
even I remember during theVieques protests in Puerto Rico.
Are you familiar with that?
Raul Lopez (20:16):
Yeah, but if you want to explain it a little bit
for people listening, for anyPuerto.
Jon Marcantoni (20:18):
Ricoans who aren't familiar.
The US used Vieques, which isan island off the coast of
Puerto Rico this is part ofPuerto Rico Used half of it as a
bombing range for 15 years andin I believe it was 98, one of
those bombs killed two PuertoRicans.
Bombs killed two Puerto Ricansand in the aftermath there was
(20:41):
these massive protests thatlasted over a year, well into
2000.
And in the end the protests gotthe US to remove the Marines
from the ECAS, which is a hugetriumph for the Puerto Rican
people.
And Fajardo is actually to getto Vieques, you have to go to
(21:05):
Fajardo first, so, like theboats that leave for Vieques are
there.
So a lot of the marches for well, against the bombing of Vieques
went in front of my Obama'shouse and I remember I was about
15, writing a short story aboutthose protests and I put myself
(21:29):
into it and, you know, did allthe dramatic things that you do,
and I remember being able toshare that with her and she was
so encouraging, even thoughprobably half of what I wrote
she didn't understand, you know,it didn't matter, but she was
encouraging.
I'm her, I'm her, um, you knowand um, and she just provided
(21:55):
stability.
You know she, but she also isis a badass woman.
You know I hope it's okay tosay say uh, that word, but you
know she um, after my abuelodied, she just like reinvented
herself.
You know, she um got reallybingo nights, like playing bingo
and slot machines was like thatwas her, her passion.
(22:17):
And in bajarala there's a placecalled El Conquistador which is
a five-star hotel and casino,and she would go there and
gamble once a week and also seeher friends, and she built a
whole friend group for herselfand she had a community.
She didn't.
Her identity wasn't just beinga mom or an abuela like her.
(22:45):
Her identity was also aboutherself and about living the
life that she wanted to live.
And that was very, veryinspiring for me to see that
sort of confidence, especiallythat sort of confidence after
what had been a very difficultlife that she had.
So, so yeah, she's just, she'sstill very special Nice.
Raul Lopez (23:08):
Yeah, I mean, as someone who's my grandmother's
favorite, you know, I know thatlove and that bond, you know,
and and it's nice to to havesomething that's inspirational
like that and it also seems like, because you're close to your
grandmother, you also spent alot of time on the island and
(23:30):
that kind of overlapped withyour love of Puerto Rico and
your love of that and that seemsto have influenced a lot of
what you're doing.
Did you know early on how youwere influencing yourself?
Not, did you know, but did youstart?
I know you said you startedwriting about puerto rico, about
the vehicle.
Is that kind of starting your,your whole path into focusing on
including your love of your, ofyour island, with your art?
Jon Marcantoni (23:53):
um, you know that that that story was was
probably the yeah, it probablywas the first time that I had
written about the island acouple years prior to that.
So we're talking like 96, whenthe internet finally becomes
(24:14):
available to everybody.
Aol for a while, yeah, and itwas AOL.
It was dial up.
It took 20 minutes to log onand you always had to get off
because somebody had to make aphone call.
Um, but in those early days ofthe internet, when it was mostly
text-based like a lot of peopledon't remember the internet was
largely just text and, as aresult, um, the the only law
(24:39):
that's ever been passed inregulating the internet is from
that time period, and so itplaced the internet under the
same category as literature, andthere was actually, just like a
year or two ago it was veryrecently, it was post-COVID
there were some legislatorswanting to revisit that law,
(25:03):
because one of the things thatthat law allowed and I know I'm
getting a little on face, but Ipromise I'm going to come back
so the thing with that law isthat it's the reason why
pornography is so rampant on theinternet, because there were a
bunch of laws passed in the1960s protecting freedom of
(25:24):
speech for writers and?
Um, so you have a bunch ofpornographers operating under
under laws for writers, and butyou also have a lot of
protections for political speech, and so all these conspiracy
theories and all these blackostuff that you see online is
also protected under that law,right, and so there's a lot of
(25:46):
people that want to like changethat so that they um, so you can
be a little more strict, but,um, back in the early 90s,
because of that law, you endedup having tons of stuff on the
internet that hadn't been soreadily public before.
Amongst those things, materialon puerto rican independence and
(26:09):
the fight for puerto ricanindependence, and especially
pedro avicenca, who in his day,was public enemy number one.
He he led a a revolutionagainst the United States in
1950 to liberate Puerto Rico.
That resulted in him being sentto a prison in Atlanta where he
was tortured for six years, andthe torture that he experienced
(26:33):
were radiation experimentswhere they would blast x-rays
into his prison cell, and heended up burning 60% of his skin
irreparably, that he had burnsall the way until he died, and
he ended up dying of thoseinjuries um 12 years after he
got out of prison.
Um, an incredible hero, um,someone I've always idolized um,
(26:58):
as does anyone who lovescultism idolizes him, and I
learned about him because theywere able to put this up on the
internet and the governmentcouldn't stop it.
I learned about Pedro LuisOcampos.
I learned about the revolution.
I learned about the Poncemassacre and the Rio Piedras
(27:19):
massacre.
I learned about Cerra.
Maravilla.
I learned all those things whenI was like 13, 14 years old, so
very formative time for me, andI would say that that really
radicalized me, in being notonly politically radicalized but
also just identity.
You know, my brother and sisterstruggled, uh and still do
(27:44):
struggle, with um feeling likethey belong with puerto ricans,
um feeling like they werereceptive I've been there enough
but for me I was like no, no.
So you know they've been youknow, I'm I'm a son of a bison,
like, like.
I completely identify with hisstruggle, and I'm, you know, the
(28:05):
reason that I'm here in thiscountry is because of what the
US has done to us and have madePuerto Rico so inhospitable
living, and so I'm fighting thisfight too.
I'm here with you, don Pedro,you know, and that kind of
strengthened my own sense ofsaying F?
You to anybody who everquestioned my Puerto Rican-ness.
(28:27):
And I think because thathappened at a very formative age
and then was immediatelyfollowed by Vieques, and Vieques
was the first time in over 20years, at that point, that
Puerto Rican independence hadeven been popular.
And the US has a history ofbasically every time there's an
(28:52):
upswing in a desire forindependence, either one of our
leaders are murdered or, in thecase of Central Maravilla, our
activists are murdered, and it'sall a scare tactic to keep us
down.
So, yeah, those were veryformative things for me and
(29:15):
writing that story was the firsttime that I learned about
Puerto Rico, about being PuertoRican and what that meant to me.
And really, from that point on,I mean all of my books.
I've written five books.
All of them deal with thePuerto Rican experience.
My two plays, puerto RicanDoctor and Empire of Solitude,
(29:36):
which is about Julio de Bordos,those are about the Puerto Rican
experience and wrestling with alot of these philosophical and
political um ideas that are arevery difficult to express in an
environment where, because weare pinned as just latinos and
(29:57):
the latino movement is largelyMexican-American at the expense
of everybody else, the Latinomovement is all about
assimilation to the UnitedStates.
It's all about coming to theUnited States, loving the United
States, revering the UnitedStates.
It's very pro-American.
(30:18):
And then the Puerto Rican andFemin Independence Movement is
very get America off our land.
You know, and it puts you in avery weird place as a Puerto
Rican artist to be proudlyPuerto Rican and outspoken about
your own support for thatindependence, because it does
put you at odds with thelistening community in a way
(30:40):
that also has been veryfascinating for me as a majestic
person.
Raul Lopez (30:46):
I think it's very hard for a Puerto Rican to not
be somewhat political in theirideology one way or another.
It's just in your nature.
Other it's just in your nature,yeah, but it.
But then also, you know, Ithink people don't understand
how much writers have influencedrevolutions.
(31:07):
You know, from like jose martito.
You know, all over the placewhere you have, you know, and I
think even like in cuba, youknow the downfall that got
castro into into thing was thatwe had a lot of college kids
that were allowed to write,which allowed freedoms of
writing.
That way we get spread out.
So, like the same way youlearned because of all the
writings on the internet.
(31:28):
And so you know, tell me alittle bit about the books that
you've written and your processand you know getting published
and stuff like that.
Like, tell me about that.
Jon Marcantoni (31:38):
Yeah, well, well , man, well, first let me tell
you about the publishing process, because mine was very, mine is
very different.
It's not the typical like, oh,I got an MFA and I, you know,
went to NYU or I got an agent,no, no, no.
So I first got published in2006 in a short story I thought
(32:04):
was called the Shortcut, andthat was actually for a story
called the Revolutionary, whichwas about a Puerto Rican patriot
who, for reasons that arerevealed over the course of the
story, fled Puerto Rico in the1920s and is living in Cuba in
(32:24):
the 40s and he befriends a younggirl who's going through a
really hard time and the storyis about that friendship and
it's about how he begins openingup to her about what his past
was and in unlocking his past,he's able to give her, um a hope
(32:45):
for her future and uh.
So, yeah, it was a really goodstory still one of my favorite
stories and um, and so that getspublished in the short story
anthology.
When I was 22 and then, when Igot out of college, I well,
(33:06):
because it was a great recession, the only job I was able to get
, so originally I was going toreturn to Puerto Rico.
I had a job lined up for mewith Instituto de Cultura in San
Juan and that was my plan.
I was going to go back to SanJuan.
My ex-wife supported that atthe time.
(33:27):
Then in Puerto Rico it was adepression it wasn't a recession
, which we still have not gottenout of.
All of the programs that LACCurriculum were cut.
Everything I had worked for forfour years was out the window.
(33:49):
So I ended up getting a techsupport job, a very bad tech
support job.
But you know I could use mydegree because it was a
bilingual job and my degree isin Spanish studies.
So while I was working that job, I was still like well, I want
(34:10):
to be involved in literature insome way.
Right, and I got a job as aneditor at a publishing house
called Sibong Books, which stillexists and it's based out of
Hawaii, and I became an editorfor them.
I ended up representing four orfive of their authors over the
(34:34):
course of the time I was withthem and I gained such a good
reputation with the authors thatthey actually wanted to make me
the editor-in-chief.
But because they were a smallcompany and the publishing
industry being the way it is, Iwasn't going to be paid for
doing that.
I would only be paid royalties,which is the same as being an
(34:58):
editor and it doesn't pay younothing.
It pays you nothing.
And it was around that time Igot sent away to the Army.
But prior to going into theArmy, the guy who was the
editor-in-chief this guy namedZach Oliver he well, I edited
(35:22):
one of of his books and then hebecame editor and she decided to
turn his job down and and Iasked him like hey, I have this
manuscript which, um, I, I, it,I, this manuscript had almost
been published two other timesand both times the publishing
house that picked it up foldedthis book, was cursed.
(35:47):
But I still ask that, like hey,could you look at this and just
tell me if I should keep tryingto get it published?
And it was a book of shortstories about interconnected
(36:09):
short stories, and theconnecting strand were these two
friends who take across-country trip trying to
escape their lives, which aregoing nowhere, their lives which
are going nowhere, and theultimate, what ultimately
happens on this cross-countrytrip, is that one of them
(36:30):
decides that he wants to go backto Puerto Rico and fight for
independence.
So a lot of these stories alsodeal with Puerto Rican
independence.
It included that short storythat was then published bbc and
um, and so I I give it to zachand I'm just like, be honest
(36:51):
with me, 100.
If it's not good enough, I'lljust dump it and I'll just write
something else.
Um, and about a week goes byand he emails me and he says
we're publishing this.
I'll tell you this right nowNot only should it be published,
but we are going to publish it,and that was how I got
(37:13):
published.
That was how I started off beingan author, which is very
different.
It was from the inside.
I was an editor.
I'm really glad that I had theexperience in publishing.
That I did, because it actuallyset the groundwork for what I
now do with Flamboyant, with ourAmerican Playwrights Program,
(37:33):
where we develop new playwrightsnot only creatively but also
professionally.
There's an astounding lack ofprofessional development for
writers in every field, and sowhat made me aware of them is,
you know, I got publishedbecause I was an editor.
(37:56):
Being an editor meant that Igot to learn the ins and outs of
a publishing house.
I got to learn why they makethe choices that they make, the
way that they regard writers,the way that they look at
writers as a commodity and alsoas a creative partner, and
having that professional insightas a writer was game changing
(38:20):
for me, and it was alsosomething that I saw.
The more and more writers thatI worked with, I saw the
astounding lack of knowledgethat they had about the way that
the industry actually functions.
So, as a writer myself, I wasable to navigate spaces more
(38:40):
intelligently and moreefficiently.
So that you know, I'm 39 now.
I can't tell you how manywriters I know in their late 40s
, their 50s, their 60s, whohaven't been published as much
as I have done.
And that's not just with books,it also with articles, with
(39:02):
short stories, poems, all ofthat sort of stuff.
I've been published a lot and Iwas able to do that because I
understood the way the businessworked, and now I'm trying to do
that with theater, which we canget into in a little bit.
But having gotten my first bookpublished that way, it was very
easy for me to get my next bookpublished, which happened after
(39:27):
I had started being in themilitary and when I got out of
basic training.
Zach had left Savant andstarted up his own publishing
company and he asked me to runits editorial department me to
run its editorial department,and it was through that
experience that I came torepresent over 20 writers in
(39:47):
about seven different countries,and it's where I also got
introduced to the literary scenein New York as well as the
theater scene in New York, andthat ended up opening up the
door for me to eventually createFlamboyant.
Raul Lopez (40:03):
And so tell me a little bit about Flamboyant and
what you guys do there.
Yeah.
Jon Marcantoni (40:08):
Well, so, um, flamboyant essentially came
about because, um, so, afterHurricane Maria I, I decided to
change a book that I had beendeveloping about the Sacramento
BA Murders into a play, which isPuerto Rican Nocturne, and I
(40:31):
had a few friends in New Yorkwho had asked me to be a part of
a short play festival that theywere doing as a fundraiser, and
that was the germ of the ideaof making Puerto Rican actor in
a play, and I was able to getthe resources put together to
(40:51):
put that play on.
It was going to premiere onMarch 13th, 2020, which is the
day that everything shut down,so that production went out the
window and instead, two yearslater, after I had moved up to
Denver I had been living inColorado Springs prior to that,
(41:13):
which is about an hour south ofDenver I moved to Denver in 2021
.
And then, in 2022, I madeenough connections that I was
able to do a full production ofPuerto Rican Nocturne here.
It premiered at an historictheater here called the Bug,
which started its life as asilent movie house, and in
(41:39):
getting that play put on.
So, being a representative forauthors in the publishing world
taught me how to interact withthe media and how to get the
media to pay attention to you,and so I was able to get a lot
(42:02):
of coverage for Puerto Rican.
Nocturne even though I didn'treally have much of a base here
in Denver, and a lot of thepeople who ended up coming out
both to audition as actors andalso as audience members for the
show itself ended up expressingto me how alone they have felt
here in Denver and that theydidn't even realize there were
other Puerto Ricans here.
They, um just feel like the thewhole culture of Denver ignores
(42:28):
them.
Um, because Denver actually hasa very large Latino art scene,
but it's all Mexican and Chicano, um, and just to the exclusion
of everybody else.
There are a couple ofinstitutions, most notably the
Museo de las Americas, that is alot more inclusive and brings
(42:49):
in all of Latin America intotheir exhibits.
They're a wonderful institution.
If any of your listeners planto go to Denver, I highly
recommend it.
So yeah, not only did I getthat response, I also got the
response of there's actually alarge amount of Hurricane Maria
(43:10):
refugees who live in Denver andthis community is just very
unknown and nobody has tappedinto them.
I initially started offFlamboyant as, more broadly,
bipoc, but I wasn't able to getmuch traction with that and I
(43:34):
was like you know, what am Idoing?
Why am I going away from what Iknow myself to be.
I'm Puerto Rican.
Puerto Rican arts are whatbring me passion, my people are
what bring me passion, and itwas, frankly, fear.
I was afraid of just going allin on the puerto rican thing, um
, because I thought there wasn'troom for us here, but I've
(43:59):
instead found, since refocusingflamboyant to being just about
pu Rican artists, so muchsupport because there are Puerto
Ricans who are working in allsorts of different fields here
and who have businesses here andwho are really hungering for
(44:20):
stories to represent our people.
And you know, and we, we dothis through our original
productions.
I mentioned Empire of Solitudeearlier, which is about Juliana
Borges and is a celebration ofher life and her poetry,
(44:42):
connected with a lot of otherveterans here, and one of them
being a writer, deniseSubisarretta, who wrote a play
called Denise, which is abouther time in serving in
Guantanamo Bay after 9-11 andhow it affected her marriage,
which is a story that I believea lot of veterans, no matter
(45:04):
your background, will relate to.
But especially being able totell a Latino veteran story in
this vein is very important, Ibelieve, for our community.
And then our EmergingPlaywrights Program, which just
launched yesterday.
We have two really excitingwriters, bailey Schlitzman and
(45:30):
Alejandro Valdearre, who is aMexican-Puerto Rican, both of
them living out in the westernUnited States, and the theme for
our Emerging Playwrightsprogram this year is Western
Boricuas, focusing on thediaspora that is west of the
(45:51):
Mississippi and is overlooked,and trying to connect them back
to the rest of the diaspora, themore established communities in
Chicago and New York andOrlando, as well as the island
itself, because I believe thatthe future of our people depends
on the unity of our people andthis program.
(46:14):
You know, these writers arementored on their scripts, but
they also engage with contentthat I've created, these classes
which focus on professionaldevelopment, these classes which
focus on professionaldevelopment, on how to engage
with the media, how to engagewith an audience, how to build a
budget and a marketing plan,how to work with a director, how
(46:37):
to work with actors, how towork with a tech crew, all the
different things that you needto know to actually produce a
play.
And this is all in the whole,because, like, I'm doing this
kind of stuff, but this stuffthat I'm doing does not matter
if the people I teach don't thenteach others.
So what I'm hoping for is thatBailey and Alejandro and all of
our future students I'll justcall them students that they
(47:04):
will take this knowledge andteach it in their own
communities and set up their owntheater companies.
But once you know the businessside of theater, once you know
the way that it functions, thenyou're able to do a lot more
with your creative work.
And one of the things that ismost important to me in
(47:25):
communicating in this program ishow, even though the business
side is all about commodity, you, as the artist, have to keep
your humanity.
If you lose your humanity,there's no point in you doing
this.
You have to keep who you are,and the more you see yourself as
a commodity, not only do youlimit yourself as a human being,
(47:50):
but you also limit your workbecause you're trying to write
things for your TikTok andInstagram and Twitter followers
instead of what is mostimportant to you in your heart.
And what's most important toyour heart might not seem
marketable, but here's the greatthing about the age that we
live.
We live in an age where theinternet allows you to reach any
(48:14):
audience who's interested inanything, and so this whole idea
that, oh well, because of whereI live, because of my racial or
ethnic background.
Because of my particularinterests, I can only tell
certain kinds of stories becausethere's only one kind of
audience.
That is old thinking, that ispre-Internet thinking.
(48:34):
We're in the Internet era.
You need to embrace that thereis a community and there is an
audience, no matter where youare and no matter who you are.
Raul Lopez (48:42):
Yeah, one of the questions I was going to ask you
because that was something youbrought up in your pre-interview
about.
You know, keeping your humanityand it reminds me of this book
that I really like by SimonSinek you know, start With why.
You know where it's the how andwhat you're doing doesn't
matter.
If you have a strong why, ifyour purpose is strong and you
(49:02):
have a strong reason of doing it, everything else will fall into
place, as long as you canalways maintain that, like you
said, that humanity as your goal.
So it's a wonderful thing thatyou're doing there.
And, you know, do you have youseen a lot of?
Because you're talking about abig factor that I think a lot of
(49:24):
people misunderstood, don'tunderstand when they're trying
to start off something is notjust knowing the passion and not
knowing just the what you'regood at, but understanding the,
the business.
You know understanding the media, like you know have you noticed
that people who have come toyour classes, have come to
Flamboyant, are starting to likeoh, that's.
That was the missing part.
(49:45):
That allowed me to branch out.
Jon Marcantoni (49:51):
Yeah, I think that is the response that I've
mostly gotten has been like okay, now I understand why this is
run this way.
Lot of there's a lot ofmisunderstanding of why arts
(50:12):
organizations make the decisionsthat they do, um, and why.
You know, there there's there'sa tendency amongst um the
artist to look at theinstitution that they're trying
to appeal to as not also beingpeople or not also having their
own business concerns.
You know, because, like we're,we're putting our heart out
(50:33):
there, we're putting ourselveson the line and so if we're not
accepted, we take it verypersonal.
Amazed, how many times, like,I've submitted work and I get
told no, but then an editor whohad also reviewed my work
(50:56):
reaches out to me later on andsays hey, we really enjoyed what
you submitted.
Will you mind submitting again?
We'd really like to showcaseyou.
Or, you know, one time Isubmitted a story for a grant
and I was turned down for thegrant but the publication came
(51:16):
back to me and said, hey, westill want to publish your story
and we can't give you what thegrant offered, but we will give
you the stipend.
You know, the people who runartistic institutions and
organizations are fans also andthey are having to cater uh,
(51:37):
their tastes for what theorganization is wanting.
It does not mean that they'realways selecting the thing they
themselves want the most.
So just getting yourself outthere and exposing yourself to
more people and getting morepeople to know you, that's
really the most productive thing.
(51:59):
And you don't necessarily wantall institutions to love what
you're doing.
It might speak to pullingpunches on your part as an
artist.
It might speak to like, maybeyou're not taking risks the way
that you should.
You know, rejection is notnecessarily failure.
And when these writers find outabout the way the business
(52:24):
works and the way that, um, thethe reason why decisions are
made, the way that they're made,um, I I hope that it's kind of
a relief for them to see, like,okay, I, I can navigate this
space, not take it personally,also not sacrifice myself and
(52:45):
make better decisions about whoI reach out to.
You know, because not everyplace is going to be made for
you, and if you can't find anyplace for you, that's when you
need to start looking foryourself.
Yeah.
Raul Lopez (52:58):
No, it's a great lesson to learn and you know,
it's something, I think thatcomes with time the whole idea,
you know, not taking thingspersonal, and realizing that
rejection isn't the end of theroad, it's just a different
opportunity and you have tobranch off from where you're at.
So great lessons to kind oflearn.
And speaking of that, if youwere trying to go back in time
(53:19):
and talk to the younger versionof yourself, what's some lessons
you'd give yourself to help youon your journey that you wish
you had known?
Jon Marcantoni (53:27):
What's some lessons you'd give yourself to
help you on your journey thatyou wish you had known.
You know I would tell myyounger self to not sacrifice
any part of myself.
I've really struggled withcensoring myself in order to
please others.
I I've struggled with thepeople pleasing gene and um and
(53:52):
standing up for myself andsaying, like you know, this is
really the thing that I want, um, and I think I would have.
I would have pushed my youngerself to to do that more because,
you know, I I've experienced awhole lot of happiness and a
whole lot of opportunity in thelast couple of years and every
(54:15):
time that it's come about, it'sbeen because I've not censored
any aspect of myself.
I have been 100% JohnMarcantoni, and people respond
to that.
People respond to yourauthenticity and people can tell
when you are anything less thanyourself, and people can tell
(54:39):
when you're not reallypassionate about something.
So, you know, just saveyourself a lot of time and even
if it seems risky, even ifyou're nervous about it, just go
for it, because you know whoyou are and nobody can take that
from you and it's also thething that makes you stand out
(55:00):
from others Awesome.
Raul Lopez (55:02):
And then my last question for you before we go is
how do you say success inSpanish?
What does success mean to you?
Jon Marcantoni (55:10):
And it's authenticity, authenticity all
the way.
You know the way you interactwith people and the way that you
engage with your loved ones,with your community and, mostly,
with yourself.
You know if you're spending yourdays just posting online, like
online is the last place you'llever be, authentic, um, you know
(55:33):
, um, I mean I, I know, but, buthe's like a buddy of mine, like
jerry star has.
He's done a great job ofshowcasing his authenticity
online, um, but he is a rarityand he's also very self-aware
about what he is presenting tothe world.
Most people aren't.
Most people are really justtrying to get the likes and
(55:57):
really just trying to fit in.
And you know, simply becauseyou can express an opinion
doesn't mean that yourinsecurities and your fears
aren't coming out in thatopinion.
You know, I, I'm definitelysomeone who believes that if, if
(56:17):
people are agreeing with everysingle thing that you're saying,
then you need to think aboutwhat you're saying.
You know, because if you'rereally being yourself and you're
really being honest, you'regoing to have some pushback and
you want that.
You want dialogue with people.
You don't want to be a dictatorwho just everybody is a yes,
man or woman and letting you getaway with your worst tendencies
(56:41):
.
You want people who will callyou on your garbage and yeah, so
it's just authenticity man,nice man.
Well, john, it's been wonderfulhaving you on your garbage and
yeah, so it's just authenticityman.
Raul Lopez (56:49):
Nice man.
Well, john, it's been wonderfulhaving you on here.
You know, if you want, tell mea little bit, tell me how people
can help out, just any way theycan help out, or keep up to
date with what you guys aredoing.
Yeah.
Jon Marcantoni (57:03):
You know, follow Flamboyant Theatre at flamboyan
F-L-A-M-B-O-Y-A-N underscoretheater and that's theater E-R,
not R-E, so at Flamboyanunderscore theater on Instagram.
That's the best way to keep upwith what we're doing.
(57:24):
And you know, yeah, that's thebest way to keep up with what
we're doing.
And you know, yeah, that's thebest way.
Nice.
Raul Lopez (57:30):
All right.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on here.
I really appreciate you takingthe time.
I appreciate the fact that youreached out to me as well.
I wish you all the best and Ilook forward to you know what
more comes from you guys outthere in Denver.
So thank you so much.
No, thank you, I appreciate youand I love, love your show and I
(57:50):
hope you have much success fora long time.
Thank you, I really.
I really do appreciate thatwhen random people hit me up and
say, hey, I listened to yourshow and it's not just somebody,
I know it's like that feelsgreat.
I'm really glad that I'mgetting a reach out there.
So I do appreciate you takingthe time and for everyone else
listening, you know.
Thanks again for jumping on andlistening and I hope you'll
join me again next time as wecontinue to learn how to see
success in space.
This is Raul Lopez, and you're listening to how Do
you Save Success in Spanglish?
The path to success isn't easyFor minorities and people of
color.
Many attempt this journey withlittle to no guidance.
Join me as I sit down withindividuals who share their
stories of perseverance so thattogether, we can learn how to
say success in Spanglish what'sgood, mi gente, welcome back.
(00:31):
It's your boy, raul.
Welcome to how Do you SaySuccess in Spanglish?
Today, my guest is JohnMarcantoni.
How's it going, john?
Hi, I'm doing great.
How are you Doing?
All right, man?
Thank you so much for takingthe time to be on here Just to
kind of give a little backgroundon John.
John Marcantoni is a PuertoRican novelist and playwright,
(00:55):
the author of five books.
He won the 2017 IndependenceBook Award for Best Southeastern
Fiction for his book Kings ofthe Seventh Avenue.
After the success of his playPuerto Rican Nocturne about the
Cerro Maravilla murders andtheir aftermath, he founded
Flamboyan Theater in 2022.
The company produces new PuertoRican plays and seeks to build
(01:19):
a creative hub for Denver'sPuerto Rican community to
celebrate their culture andstories while utilizing
multimedia and multi-moduleforms of performance for the
21st century theatricalexperience.
John, welcome to the show.
Jon Marcantoni (01:30):
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm really excited for it.
Raul Lopez (01:33):
Oh, thanks, man.
Yeah, and, like I said, whatwas great is, you know, I really
appreciate you reaching out tome and, you know, wanting to
share your story.
So I guess, to kind of startoff, tell me a little bit about
yourself.
You know who is John?
Jon Marcantoni (01:44):
your story.
So I guess, to kind of startoff, tell me a little bit about
yourself.
You know who is john?
Uh, well, you know I'm a fatherof three kids.
Um, my oldest is in college anduh, then I got two, two teens,
and, um, um, yeah, I believe youwere telling me your child is
(02:04):
10.
So, you know, I'm sure you'veheard all the warnings, but
actually I really love them.
They're 12 and 14, and they'returning into such creative, fun
kids.
But aside from all that, youknow I'm a huge movie nerd.
(02:26):
I'm one of those people thatsees all the Oscar movies.
So, like this, last weekend waslike my Christmas, basically,
and I also, you know, I've beenin Colorado since 2014,.
Actually coming up on my10-year anniversary, which is
(02:46):
kind of crazy to me.
I came out here in the Army,which is a whole experience, and
it's all due to the GreatRecession making life really
miserable for anybody whograduated in 2009, 2010, like I
did.
And you know I'm just yourregular crazy artistic guy.
(03:09):
I don't know what else to say.
Raul Lopez (03:12):
Nice.
No, thank you for that.
And I'm a big movie guy too.
So I just watched Dune 2 lastweekend, and you know I love all
types of movies.
Remain in the theater.
No, it's good, it's a reallygood movie.
So I guess you know.
My first question is you know,it seems like you've kind of
been all over the place.
You know, where did you grow up?
Jon Marcantoni (03:33):
Well, kind of all over.
I've been down the East Coast,but mostly in the South Georgia,
south Carolina Florida, georgia, south Carolina Florida Spent a
lot of time going back andforth from there to the island,
particularly to Fajardo and toGuadalajara, so it's kind of
(03:54):
like two sides of San Juan, andFajardo, for me, was always home
.
I was very, very close to mymother's parents, especially m y
abuela.
She was kind of more of amother to me, to be honest, but
(04:16):
yeah, her home in Fajardo iswhere I always called it to be
my hometown, even though I livedin Augusta, georgia, which is
mostly known for the Masters.
But yeah, it was very differentbeing Puerto Rican outside of
(04:44):
the normal enclaves that youusually think of Puerto Ricans
to be in, and I think that thatoffered me a unique experience
which I really treasure.
Raul Lopez (04:52):
Yeah, I mean Georgia .
Is there a big population ofPuerto Ricans in Georgia at all?
I know Florida is, but not.
Jon Marcantoni (04:59):
Not particularly Well, not that part of Georgia.
I mean Atlanta does land of itsown people, but you know, the
Latinos I was mostly around wereMexican-Americans, and also I
lived in kind of a strange placebecause my dad was an engineer,
(05:23):
or is an engineer, and heworked at a nuclear power plant
called Savannah Riverside andbeing a nuclear power plant, it
invited people from all over theworld.
So I had a lot of Asianclassmates, I had a lot of
African American classmates, alot of Indian classmates in
(05:47):
particular, and so it was verycosmopolitan.
For not being a verycosmopolitan place, I guess you
could say it was a small city,but it felt a little bit like
Queens.
You know some of those parts ofQueens you can go into where
you hear like 20 differentlanguages you didn't even know
(06:09):
existed, but it's one bigcommunity, like there are parts
of Augusta that are like thatand, just as a funny anecdote,
it's also why I'm one of the fewPuerto Ricans who loves spicy
food, but it always messes upAmericans, americans are like
(06:33):
what are you talking about?
Raul Lopez (06:34):
You're Caribbean.
Jon Marcantoni (06:34):
You have to love spicy food.
No, no, no, that's justJamaicans.
Aside from Jamaicans, the restof the food is savory and sweet.
It's not spicy whatsoever.
The rest of the food is savoryand sweet.
It's not spicy whatsoever.
But I had for a little while.
When I was a kid, we hadneighbors who were from South
India and they would invite usover all the time.
(06:57):
Wonderful family Invite us overall the time and got me
addicted to spices, got meaddicted to that curry.
You know so.
So you know it's.
It's done well for me.
Raul Lopez (07:11):
Now, living in colorado, um, my, my wonderful
girlfriend is mexican and itallows me to hang with her, if
nothing else yeah, it's funnythe way you mentioned that,
because I think it's, for Iremember the first time I went
to, one of the first times Iwent to this puerto rican
restaurant to have mofongo, uh,and it was in houston and there
(07:33):
was the owner, who was also thechef and cooking everything, and
he comes up to me and he goes,oh oh, try this pique.
I made this pique.
I made this pique and I'm like,oh, yeah, let me put it on.
And it was like the mostmildest hot sauce I've ever had.
I was just like, oh okay, no,it's good, it's good.
I'm peruvian, I know what spicymeans, but no, it's cool, it's,
(07:54):
you know.
Yeah, but it's hilarious theway that you mentioned that.
So that's awesome.
So, uh, I got my wife getting alittle more spicy too, because
she's Puerto Rican, so I'mgetting her used to some of the
Peruvian spices.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
Jon Marcantoni (08:08):
Yeah, no, my sister-in-law is actually
Peruvian.
Oh nice, yeah.
So my brother married aPeruvian who he met in Germany,
Nice, we're all over the place,which is a great entryway to
just talk about.
Like you know, Puerto Ricansare like all island people are.
We are a gateway to the entireworld and I think that, more
(08:35):
than being citizens of any oneplace, we're citizens of the
entire world.
And that's one of the beautifulthings about us as a culture is
that we can let in all sorts ofpeople, appreciate the
different things about them,appreciate them as human beings,
and still maintain who we areintrinsically.
And I think that that issomething special with island
(08:56):
cultures that we welcome in themixture of different people and
different cultures.
Raul Lopez (09:02):
Yeah, I mean the fact that you guys are such a
melting pot that it allows youto be open to all sorts of, you
know, different cultures.
Because you guys have so manydifferent cultures, I mean
someone who's grown up his wholelife people thinking I'm Puerto
Rican.
You know what I mean.
You guys blend in everywhere.
It's great.
I love Puerto Rican.
I mean I married one.
I mean obviously one.
(09:32):
I mean obviously so.
It's been great.
And so I know now you run theFlamboyant Theater in Denver.
But I mean, did you have a?
Jon Marcantoni (09:36):
passion for the arts early on in your life.
Yeah, you know, when I was sixI started going to this school
in Georgia.
Funny enough, the drama teacherhad been my babysitter when we
had lived in Baltimorepreviously.
So I say I was living inGeorgia, when I was six.
(10:02):
It was the fifth place I hadlived in, so it's giving you an
idea of what my early, earlychildhood was.
So the elementary school that Iwent to it had a really good
arts program.
In fact it was a mandatory artsprogram we had to every week.
We had art classes, musicclasses and drama classes.
(10:23):
Every week.
We had art classes, musicclasses and drama classes, and
the drama teacher had actuallybeen my babysitter when we lived
in Baltimore.
We moved to Georgia fromBaltimore and that was actually
the fifth place that I had movedfrom by the age of six.
(10:43):
So I was all over the place.
Just to give you an idea ofwhat my childhood was like Were,
you guys moved because of likemilitary.
No no.
Well, what's?
funny is, my dad was in the Navy, but he got out before I was
born, like right before I wasborn.
He was just, he was an engineerand he was trying to move up
(11:08):
the ladder and so he would justtake, uh, whatever job would
help him in his career and thatmeant a lot of moving for us, um
.
But but in this elementaryschool, um, my drama teacher was
this really, really wonderfullady named Miss Thornton, and
(11:28):
she saw a lot of potential in meand I love drama class and I
really I had already started tobecome obsessed with books and
wanting to write my own stories.
I think the first short storythat I wrote that could be
called like an actual like storywas, um was when I was eight.
(11:52):
Um, I wrote I think it was avampire story is what I wrote.
Um I was.
I was very obsessed with horroralso at the time.
So, yeah, I immediately felt aconnection to and a warmth for
(12:12):
theater and also for literature,and I think that that passion
for it also invited certainadults in my life to see some
promise in me and I got pushedtoward that direction quite a
lot.
(12:33):
All throughout my childhood.
I had several teachers who Iremember.
This one.
She was my 11th grade Englishteacher and she was like I
remember her telling me she waslike John grade English teacher
and she was like I remember hertelling me she was like John,
you can write, like yeah,there's a lot of kids interested
in writing, but you have atalent, this is an actual thing
(12:54):
that you can do, and her beingincredibly encouraging.
And then, just you know, theaterbecame a home for me.
That's for a lot of kids,especially kids with
dysfunctional families, whichI'm totally open to talking
(13:15):
about.
I mean, it's just a part of whoI am.
It was a very chaotic householdthat I grew up in and theater
provided a sort of stability andtheater people being very
accepting and very nurturing.
I felt very safe in thatenvironment and the kinds of
(13:37):
mentors that I got in doingfirst community theater and then
regional theater theater andthen regional theater and
eventually, when I was 18, Iactually joined a professional
street street performance groupand we would do performances all
around town and first fridayevents and that was an amazing
(14:00):
experience to have as a youngperson.
But it all kind of started withhaving that support system so.
Raul Lopez (14:09):
So you said that the theater helped support uh, give
you support from yourdysfunctional lifestyle that you
were dealing with uh is it.
Was it one of those situationswhere it's like the less time
you were home and the more timeyou were doing theater stuff,
the better you felt?
Jon Marcantoni (14:25):
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly it.
I, you know, even like in highschool, being involved in
(14:47):
different theaters, andespecially the fact that I was
able to get roles outside oflike a school play and I was
doing things outside of justlike what school had to offer,
um got a big ego out of that andreally felt like I was an adult
.
That was one of those kids thatthat definitely, definitely
wanted to grow up.
I wasn't interested in stayinga kid, I wanted to already be
driving and going out to all theadult places and just being
(15:07):
around adults.
I was very obsessed with thatat the time and I felt special.
I felt special to, you know,when I was 18 years old, get
cast in a regional production ofAngels in America.
This is a very difficult play,it's a very advanced play for
any actor, and the fact that Igot cast as a character 10 years
(15:33):
older than me and that made mefeel special.
It made me feel like, okay, Imust really have something.
Raul Lopez (15:44):
And do you think the people that were part of this
theater group, the part of yourtheater life, helped influence
you to keep motivating, to keepsucceeding and doing more for
your life?
Jon Marcantoni (15:55):
Yeah, absolutely .
You know, I feel very fortunateto have been around very
ambitious people.
I feel very fortunate to havebeen around very ambitious
people and aside from that,aside from just the
encouragement that I got frompeers and from the community, my
(16:19):
parents have an incredible workethic.
And even if they didn't alwaysunderstand why I was doing the
things I was doing or why I wasso interested in the arts, I
(16:45):
think they did respect and stilldo respect the hustle and the
persistence that I have inpursuing the things that I want
to pursue, because that's howthey were.
You know, my mom was aneducator and had to overcome a
lot of sexism and racism.
Being an Afro-Puerto Ricanwoman, I never let that stop her
from expressing her opinionsand expressing what she felt was
(17:08):
the right way to teach kids.
She was a Spanish teacher, soshe really had no tolerance for
a white male administratortelling her how to teach Spanish
.
You know, how to teach her ownlanguage, you know.
And my dad my dad was someonewho, I mean he was very career
(17:31):
minded and very ambitious.
He was also very thoughtful,you know, as he became a manager
early on and actually a lot ofhis experiences as a manager and
as a leader in his own industryhas been very inspirational for
me and has inspired some of theways that I try to work with
(17:54):
people and try to be bothempathetic but still get the job
done.
So, you know, I think it's kindof in my blood to be a leader
and to be ambitious and then toalso get that encouragement from
the outside world.
It really made me feel like,okay, this isn't just in my head
(18:17):
, you know, it's not just methinking that I'm great, it's
other people are seeing that Ido have something to offer.
So I think it was a mix ofthose things.
Raul Lopez (18:28):
Nice, and you mentioned that your grandmother
was a big influence in your life.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your grandmother, sure?
Jon Marcantoni (18:37):
Yeah, so my abuela Rosada, she, I don't know
what to say I mean you know asan abuela.
she was just the sweetest, mostloving, most encouraging person
possible.
You know her and my abuelo, whounfortunately died when I was
(18:59):
six.
You know her and my abuelo, whounfortunately died when I was
six.
They got a house inFarhungville, overlooking a
marina actually, so it was juston a hillside and, as you can
imagine being a kid and likeseeing the sunrise over the
marina and being able to justplay out there in the marina and
(19:21):
, um, being able to, it's justplay out there and it's like the
palm trees and they have thislike big bean tree and you have
the ocean in the distance.
Um, it was a really idyllicplace and my abuela you know my
spanish wasn't very good growingup.
Um, I would say that by thetime I was a preteen, I could
(19:44):
have a very basic conversationin Spanish, but I didn't become
fluent until after she had died.
She died when I was 19.
And yet we still communicatedand she helped me with my
Spanish a bit, I helped her alittle bit with English, and
(20:08):
even I remember during theVieques protests in Puerto Rico.
Are you familiar with that?
Raul Lopez (20:16):
Yeah, but if you want to explain it a little bit
for people listening, for anyPuerto.
Jon Marcantoni (20:18):
Ricoans who aren't familiar.
The US used Vieques, which isan island off the coast of
Puerto Rico this is part ofPuerto Rico Used half of it as a
bombing range for 15 years andin I believe it was 98, one of
those bombs killed two PuertoRicans.
Bombs killed two Puerto Ricansand in the aftermath there was
(20:41):
these massive protests thatlasted over a year, well into
2000.
And in the end the protests gotthe US to remove the Marines
from the ECAS, which is a hugetriumph for the Puerto Rican
people.
And Fajardo is actually to getto Vieques, you have to go to
(21:05):
Fajardo first, so, like theboats that leave for Vieques are
there.
So a lot of the marches for well, against the bombing of Vieques
went in front of my Obama'shouse and I remember I was about
15, writing a short story aboutthose protests and I put myself
(21:29):
into it and, you know, did allthe dramatic things that you do,
and I remember being able toshare that with her and she was
so encouraging, even thoughprobably half of what I wrote
she didn't understand, you know,it didn't matter, but she was
encouraging.
I'm her, I'm her, um, you knowand um, and she just provided
(21:55):
stability.
You know she, but she also isis a badass woman.
You know I hope it's okay tosay say uh, that word, but you
know she um, after my abuelodied, she just like reinvented
herself.
You know, she um got reallybingo nights, like playing bingo
and slot machines was like thatwas her, her passion.
(22:17):
And in bajarala there's a placecalled El Conquistador which is
a five-star hotel and casino,and she would go there and
gamble once a week and also seeher friends, and she built a
whole friend group for herselfand she had a community.
She didn't.
Her identity wasn't just beinga mom or an abuela like her.
(22:45):
Her identity was also aboutherself and about living the
life that she wanted to live.
And that was very, veryinspiring for me to see that
sort of confidence, especiallythat sort of confidence after
what had been a very difficultlife that she had.
So, so yeah, she's just, she'sstill very special Nice.
Raul Lopez (23:08):
Yeah, I mean, as someone who's my grandmother's
favorite, you know, I know thatlove and that bond, you know,
and and it's nice to to havesomething that's inspirational
like that and it also seems like, because you're close to your
grandmother, you also spent alot of time on the island and
(23:30):
that kind of overlapped withyour love of Puerto Rico and
your love of that and that seemsto have influenced a lot of
what you're doing.
Did you know early on how youwere influencing yourself?
Not, did you know, but did youstart?
I know you said you startedwriting about puerto rico, about
the vehicle.
Is that kind of starting your,your whole path into focusing on
including your love of your, ofyour island, with your art?
Jon Marcantoni (23:53):
um, you know that that that story was was
probably the yeah, it probablywas the first time that I had
written about the island acouple years prior to that.
So we're talking like 96, whenthe internet finally becomes
(24:14):
available to everybody.
Aol for a while, yeah, and itwas AOL.
It was dial up.
It took 20 minutes to log onand you always had to get off
because somebody had to make aphone call.
Um, but in those early days ofthe internet, when it was mostly
text-based like a lot of peopledon't remember the internet was
largely just text and, as aresult, um, the the only law
(24:39):
that's ever been passed inregulating the internet is from
that time period, and so itplaced the internet under the
same category as literature, andthere was actually, just like a
year or two ago it was veryrecently, it was post-COVID
there were some legislatorswanting to revisit that law,
(25:03):
because one of the things thatthat law allowed and I know I'm
getting a little on face, but Ipromise I'm going to come back
so the thing with that law isthat it's the reason why
pornography is so rampant on theinternet, because there were a
bunch of laws passed in the1960s protecting freedom of
(25:24):
speech for writers and?
Um, so you have a bunch ofpornographers operating under
under laws for writers, and butyou also have a lot of
protections for political speech, and so all these conspiracy
theories and all these blackostuff that you see online is
also protected under that law,right, and so there's a lot of
(25:46):
people that want to like changethat so that they um, so you can
be a little more strict, but,um, back in the early 90s,
because of that law, you endedup having tons of stuff on the
internet that hadn't been soreadily public before.
Amongst those things, materialon puerto rican independence and
(26:09):
the fight for puerto ricanindependence, and especially
pedro avicenca, who in his day,was public enemy number one.
He he led a a revolutionagainst the United States in
1950 to liberate Puerto Rico.
That resulted in him being sentto a prison in Atlanta where he
was tortured for six years, andthe torture that he experienced
(26:33):
were radiation experimentswhere they would blast x-rays
into his prison cell, and heended up burning 60% of his skin
irreparably, that he had burnsall the way until he died, and
he ended up dying of thoseinjuries um 12 years after he
got out of prison.
Um, an incredible hero, um,someone I've always idolized um,
(26:58):
as does anyone who lovescultism idolizes him, and I
learned about him because theywere able to put this up on the
internet and the governmentcouldn't stop it.
I learned about Pedro LuisOcampos.
I learned about the revolution.
I learned about the Poncemassacre and the Rio Piedras
(27:19):
massacre.
I learned about Cerra.
Maravilla.
I learned all those things whenI was like 13, 14 years old, so
very formative time for me, andI would say that that really
radicalized me, in being notonly politically radicalized but
also just identity.
You know, my brother and sisterstruggled, uh and still do
(27:44):
struggle, with um feeling likethey belong with puerto ricans,
um feeling like they werereceptive I've been there enough
but for me I was like no, no.
So you know they've been youknow, I'm I'm a son of a bison,
like, like.
I completely identify with hisstruggle, and I'm, you know, the
(28:05):
reason that I'm here in thiscountry is because of what the
US has done to us and have madePuerto Rico so inhospitable
living, and so I'm fighting thisfight too.
I'm here with you, don Pedro,you know, and that kind of
strengthened my own sense ofsaying F?
You to anybody who everquestioned my Puerto Rican-ness.
(28:27):
And I think because thathappened at a very formative age
and then was immediatelyfollowed by Vieques, and Vieques
was the first time in over 20years, at that point, that
Puerto Rican independence hadeven been popular.
And the US has a history ofbasically every time there's an
(28:52):
upswing in a desire forindependence, either one of our
leaders are murdered or, in thecase of Central Maravilla, our
activists are murdered, and it'sall a scare tactic to keep us
down.
So, yeah, those were veryformative things for me and
(29:15):
writing that story was the firsttime that I learned about
Puerto Rico, about being PuertoRican and what that meant to me.
And really, from that point on,I mean all of my books.
I've written five books.
All of them deal with thePuerto Rican experience.
My two plays, puerto RicanDoctor and Empire of Solitude,
(29:36):
which is about Julio de Bordos,those are about the Puerto Rican
experience and wrestling with alot of these philosophical and
political um ideas that are arevery difficult to express in an
environment where, because weare pinned as just latinos and
(29:57):
the latino movement is largelyMexican-American at the expense
of everybody else, the Latinomovement is all about
assimilation to the UnitedStates.
It's all about coming to theUnited States, loving the United
States, revering the UnitedStates.
It's very pro-American.
(30:18):
And then the Puerto Rican andFemin Independence Movement is
very get America off our land.
You know, and it puts you in avery weird place as a Puerto
Rican artist to be proudlyPuerto Rican and outspoken about
your own support for thatindependence, because it does
put you at odds with thelistening community in a way
(30:40):
that also has been veryfascinating for me as a majestic
person.
Raul Lopez (30:46):
I think it's very hard for a Puerto Rican to not
be somewhat political in theirideology one way or another.
It's just in your nature.
Other it's just in your nature,yeah, but it.
But then also, you know, Ithink people don't understand
how much writers have influencedrevolutions.
(31:07):
You know, from like jose martito.
You know, all over the placewhere you have, you know, and I
think even like in cuba, youknow the downfall that got
castro into into thing was thatwe had a lot of college kids
that were allowed to write,which allowed freedoms of
writing.
That way we get spread out.
So, like the same way youlearned because of all the
writings on the internet.
(31:28):
And so you know, tell me alittle bit about the books that
you've written and your processand you know getting published
and stuff like that.
Like, tell me about that.
Jon Marcantoni (31:38):
Yeah, well, well , man, well, first let me tell
you about the publishing process, because mine was very, mine is
very different.
It's not the typical like, oh,I got an MFA and I, you know,
went to NYU or I got an agent,no, no, no.
So I first got published in2006 in a short story I thought
(32:04):
was called the Shortcut, andthat was actually for a story
called the Revolutionary, whichwas about a Puerto Rican patriot
who, for reasons that arerevealed over the course of the
story, fled Puerto Rico in the1920s and is living in Cuba in
(32:24):
the 40s and he befriends a younggirl who's going through a
really hard time and the storyis about that friendship and
it's about how he begins openingup to her about what his past
was and in unlocking his past,he's able to give her, um a hope
(32:45):
for her future and uh.
So, yeah, it was a really goodstory still one of my favorite
stories and um, and so that getspublished in the short story
anthology.
When I was 22 and then, when Igot out of college, I well,
(33:06):
because it was a great recession, the only job I was able to get
, so originally I was going toreturn to Puerto Rico.
I had a job lined up for mewith Instituto de Cultura in San
Juan and that was my plan.
I was going to go back to SanJuan.
My ex-wife supported that atthe time.
(33:27):
Then in Puerto Rico it was adepression it wasn't a recession
, which we still have not gottenout of.
All of the programs that LACCurriculum were cut.
Everything I had worked for forfour years was out the window.
(33:49):
So I ended up getting a techsupport job, a very bad tech
support job.
But you know I could use mydegree because it was a
bilingual job and my degree isin Spanish studies.
So while I was working that job, I was still like well, I want
(34:10):
to be involved in literature insome way.
Right, and I got a job as aneditor at a publishing house
called Sibong Books, which stillexists and it's based out of
Hawaii, and I became an editorfor them.
I ended up representing four orfive of their authors over the
(34:34):
course of the time I was withthem and I gained such a good
reputation with the authors thatthey actually wanted to make me
the editor-in-chief.
But because they were a smallcompany and the publishing
industry being the way it is, Iwasn't going to be paid for
doing that.
I would only be paid royalties,which is the same as being an
(34:58):
editor and it doesn't pay younothing.
It pays you nothing.
And it was around that time Igot sent away to the Army.
But prior to going into theArmy, the guy who was the
editor-in-chief this guy namedZach Oliver he well, I edited
(35:22):
one of of his books and then hebecame editor and she decided to
turn his job down and and Iasked him like hey, I have this
manuscript which, um, I, I, it,I, this manuscript had almost
been published two other timesand both times the publishing
house that picked it up foldedthis book, was cursed.
(35:47):
But I still ask that, like hey,could you look at this and just
tell me if I should keep tryingto get it published?
And it was a book of shortstories about interconnected
(36:09):
short stories, and theconnecting strand were these two
friends who take across-country trip trying to
escape their lives, which aregoing nowhere, their lives which
are going nowhere, and theultimate, what ultimately
happens on this cross-countrytrip, is that one of them
(36:30):
decides that he wants to go backto Puerto Rico and fight for
independence.
So a lot of these stories alsodeal with Puerto Rican
independence.
It included that short storythat was then published bbc and
um, and so I I give it to zachand I'm just like, be honest
(36:51):
with me, 100.
If it's not good enough, I'lljust dump it and I'll just write
something else.
Um, and about a week goes byand he emails me and he says
we're publishing this.
I'll tell you this right nowNot only should it be published,
but we are going to publish it,and that was how I got
(37:13):
published.
That was how I started off beingan author, which is very
different.
It was from the inside.
I was an editor.
I'm really glad that I had theexperience in publishing.
That I did, because it actuallyset the groundwork for what I
now do with Flamboyant, with ourAmerican Playwrights Program,
(37:33):
where we develop new playwrightsnot only creatively but also
professionally.
There's an astounding lack ofprofessional development for
writers in every field, and sowhat made me aware of them is,
you know, I got publishedbecause I was an editor.
(37:56):
Being an editor meant that Igot to learn the ins and outs of
a publishing house.
I got to learn why they makethe choices that they make, the
way that they regard writers,the way that they look at
writers as a commodity and alsoas a creative partner, and
having that professional insightas a writer was game changing
(38:20):
for me, and it was alsosomething that I saw.
The more and more writers thatI worked with, I saw the
astounding lack of knowledgethat they had about the way that
the industry actually functions.
So, as a writer myself, I wasable to navigate spaces more
(38:40):
intelligently and moreefficiently.
So that you know, I'm 39 now.
I can't tell you how manywriters I know in their late 40s
, their 50s, their 60s, whohaven't been published as much
as I have done.
And that's not just with books,it also with articles, with
(39:02):
short stories, poems, all ofthat sort of stuff.
I've been published a lot and Iwas able to do that because I
understood the way the businessworked, and now I'm trying to do
that with theater, which we canget into in a little bit.
But having gotten my first bookpublished that way, it was very
easy for me to get my next bookpublished, which happened after
(39:27):
I had started being in themilitary and when I got out of
basic training.
Zach had left Savant andstarted up his own publishing
company and he asked me to runits editorial department me to
run its editorial department,and it was through that
experience that I came torepresent over 20 writers in
(39:47):
about seven different countries,and it's where I also got
introduced to the literary scenein New York as well as the
theater scene in New York, andthat ended up opening up the
door for me to eventually createFlamboyant.
Raul Lopez (40:03):
And so tell me a little bit about Flamboyant and
what you guys do there.
Yeah.
Jon Marcantoni (40:08):
Well, so, um, flamboyant essentially came
about because, um, so, afterHurricane Maria I, I decided to
change a book that I had beendeveloping about the Sacramento
BA Murders into a play, which isPuerto Rican Nocturne, and I
(40:31):
had a few friends in New Yorkwho had asked me to be a part of
a short play festival that theywere doing as a fundraiser, and
that was the germ of the ideaof making Puerto Rican actor in
a play, and I was able to getthe resources put together to
(40:51):
put that play on.
It was going to premiere onMarch 13th, 2020, which is the
day that everything shut down,so that production went out the
window and instead, two yearslater, after I had moved up to
Denver I had been living inColorado Springs prior to that,
(41:13):
which is about an hour south ofDenver I moved to Denver in 2021
.
And then, in 2022, I madeenough connections that I was
able to do a full production ofPuerto Rican Nocturne here.
It premiered at an historictheater here called the Bug,
which started its life as asilent movie house, and in
(41:39):
getting that play put on.
So, being a representative forauthors in the publishing world
taught me how to interact withthe media and how to get the
media to pay attention to you,and so I was able to get a lot
(42:02):
of coverage for Puerto Rican.
Nocturne even though I didn'treally have much of a base here
in Denver, and a lot of thepeople who ended up coming out
both to audition as actors andalso as audience members for the
show itself ended up expressingto me how alone they have felt
here in Denver and that theydidn't even realize there were
other Puerto Ricans here.
They, um just feel like the thewhole culture of Denver ignores
(42:28):
them.
Um, because Denver actually hasa very large Latino art scene,
but it's all Mexican and Chicano, um, and just to the exclusion
of everybody else.
There are a couple ofinstitutions, most notably the
Museo de las Americas, that is alot more inclusive and brings
(42:49):
in all of Latin America intotheir exhibits.
They're a wonderful institution.
If any of your listeners planto go to Denver, I highly
recommend it.
So yeah, not only did I getthat response, I also got the
response of there's actually alarge amount of Hurricane Maria
(43:10):
refugees who live in Denver andthis community is just very
unknown and nobody has tappedinto them.
I initially started offFlamboyant as, more broadly,
bipoc, but I wasn't able to getmuch traction with that and I
(43:34):
was like you know, what am Idoing?
Why am I going away from what Iknow myself to be.
I'm Puerto Rican.
Puerto Rican arts are whatbring me passion, my people are
what bring me passion, and itwas, frankly, fear.
I was afraid of just going allin on the puerto rican thing, um
, because I thought there wasn'troom for us here, but I've
(43:59):
instead found, since refocusingflamboyant to being just about
pu Rican artists, so muchsupport because there are Puerto
Ricans who are working in allsorts of different fields here
and who have businesses here andwho are really hungering for
(44:20):
stories to represent our people.
And you know, and we, we dothis through our original
productions.
I mentioned Empire of Solitudeearlier, which is about Juliana
Borges and is a celebration ofher life and her poetry,
(44:42):
connected with a lot of otherveterans here, and one of them
being a writer, deniseSubisarretta, who wrote a play
called Denise, which is abouther time in serving in
Guantanamo Bay after 9-11 andhow it affected her marriage,
which is a story that I believea lot of veterans, no matter
(45:04):
your background, will relate to.
But especially being able totell a Latino veteran story in
this vein is very important, Ibelieve, for our community.
And then our EmergingPlaywrights Program, which just
launched yesterday.
We have two really excitingwriters, bailey Schlitzman and
(45:30):
Alejandro Valdearre, who is aMexican-Puerto Rican, both of
them living out in the westernUnited States, and the theme for
our Emerging Playwrightsprogram this year is Western
Boricuas, focusing on thediaspora that is west of the
(45:51):
Mississippi and is overlooked,and trying to connect them back
to the rest of the diaspora, themore established communities in
Chicago and New York andOrlando, as well as the island
itself, because I believe thatthe future of our people depends
on the unity of our people andthis program.
(46:14):
You know, these writers arementored on their scripts, but
they also engage with contentthat I've created, these classes
which focus on professionaldevelopment, these classes which
focus on professionaldevelopment, on how to engage
with the media, how to engagewith an audience, how to build a
budget and a marketing plan,how to work with a director, how
(46:37):
to work with actors, how towork with a tech crew, all the
different things that you needto know to actually produce a
play.
And this is all in the whole,because, like, I'm doing this
kind of stuff, but this stuffthat I'm doing does not matter
if the people I teach don't thenteach others.
So what I'm hoping for is thatBailey and Alejandro and all of
our future students I'll justcall them students that they
(47:04):
will take this knowledge andteach it in their own
communities and set up their owntheater companies.
But once you know the businessside of theater, once you know
the way that it functions, thenyou're able to do a lot more
with your creative work.
And one of the things that ismost important to me in
(47:25):
communicating in this program ishow, even though the business
side is all about commodity, you, as the artist, have to keep
your humanity.
If you lose your humanity,there's no point in you doing
this.
You have to keep who you are,and the more you see yourself as
a commodity, not only do youlimit yourself as a human being,
(47:50):
but you also limit your workbecause you're trying to write
things for your TikTok andInstagram and Twitter followers
instead of what is mostimportant to you in your heart.
And what's most important toyour heart might not seem
marketable, but here's the greatthing about the age that we
live.
We live in an age where theinternet allows you to reach any
(48:14):
audience who's interested inanything, and so this whole idea
that, oh well, because of whereI live, because of my racial or
ethnic background.
Because of my particularinterests, I can only tell
certain kinds of stories becausethere's only one kind of
audience.
That is old thinking, that ispre-Internet thinking.
(48:34):
We're in the Internet era.
You need to embrace that thereis a community and there is an
audience, no matter where youare and no matter who you are.
Raul Lopez (48:42):
Yeah, one of the questions I was going to ask you
because that was something youbrought up in your pre-interview
about.
You know, keeping your humanityand it reminds me of this book
that I really like by SimonSinek you know, start With why.
You know where it's the how andwhat you're doing doesn't
matter.
If you have a strong why, ifyour purpose is strong and you
(49:02):
have a strong reason of doing it, everything else will fall into
place, as long as you canalways maintain that, like you
said, that humanity as your goal.
So it's a wonderful thing thatyou're doing there.
And, you know, do you have youseen a lot of?
Because you're talking about abig factor that I think a lot of
(49:24):
people misunderstood, don'tunderstand when they're trying
to start off something is notjust knowing the passion and not
knowing just the what you'regood at, but understanding the,
the business.
You know understanding the media, like you know have you noticed
that people who have come toyour classes, have come to
Flamboyant, are starting to likeoh, that's.
That was the missing part.
(49:45):
That allowed me to branch out.
Jon Marcantoni (49:51):
Yeah, I think that is the response that I've
mostly gotten has been like okay, now I understand why this is
run this way.
Lot of there's a lot ofmisunderstanding of why arts
(50:12):
organizations make the decisionsthat they do, um, and why.
You know, there there's there'sa tendency amongst um the
artist to look at theinstitution that they're trying
to appeal to as not also beingpeople or not also having their
own business concerns.
You know, because, like we're,we're putting our heart out
(50:33):
there, we're putting ourselveson the line and so if we're not
accepted, we take it verypersonal.
Amazed, how many times, like,I've submitted work and I get
told no, but then an editor whohad also reviewed my work
(50:56):
reaches out to me later on andsays hey, we really enjoyed what
you submitted.
Will you mind submitting again?
We'd really like to showcaseyou.
Or, you know, one time Isubmitted a story for a grant
and I was turned down for thegrant but the publication came
(51:16):
back to me and said, hey, westill want to publish your story
and we can't give you what thegrant offered, but we will give
you the stipend.
You know, the people who runartistic institutions and
organizations are fans also andthey are having to cater uh,
(51:37):
their tastes for what theorganization is wanting.
It does not mean that they'realways selecting the thing they
themselves want the most.
So just getting yourself outthere and exposing yourself to
more people and getting morepeople to know you, that's
really the most productive thing.
(51:59):
And you don't necessarily wantall institutions to love what
you're doing.
It might speak to pullingpunches on your part as an
artist.
It might speak to like, maybeyou're not taking risks the way
that you should.
You know, rejection is notnecessarily failure.
And when these writers find outabout the way the business
(52:24):
works and the way that, um, thethe reason why decisions are
made, the way that they're made,um, I I hope that it's kind of
a relief for them to see, like,okay, I, I can navigate this
space, not take it personally,also not sacrifice myself and
(52:45):
make better decisions about whoI reach out to.
You know, because not everyplace is going to be made for
you, and if you can't find anyplace for you, that's when you
need to start looking foryourself.
Yeah.
Raul Lopez (52:58):
No, it's a great lesson to learn and you know,
it's something, I think thatcomes with time the whole idea,
you know, not taking thingspersonal, and realizing that
rejection isn't the end of theroad, it's just a different
opportunity and you have tobranch off from where you're at.
So great lessons to kind oflearn.
And speaking of that, if youwere trying to go back in time
(53:19):
and talk to the younger versionof yourself, what's some lessons
you'd give yourself to help youon your journey that you wish
you had known?
Jon Marcantoni (53:27):
What's some lessons you'd give yourself to
help you on your journey thatyou wish you had known.
You know I would tell myyounger self to not sacrifice
any part of myself.
I've really struggled withcensoring myself in order to
please others.
I I've struggled with thepeople pleasing gene and um and
(53:52):
standing up for myself andsaying, like you know, this is
really the thing that I want, um, and I think I would have.
I would have pushed my youngerself to to do that more because,
you know, I I've experienced awhole lot of happiness and a
whole lot of opportunity in thelast couple of years and every
(54:15):
time that it's come about, it'sbeen because I've not censored
any aspect of myself.
I have been 100% JohnMarcantoni, and people respond
to that.
People respond to yourauthenticity and people can tell
when you are anything less thanyourself, and people can tell
(54:39):
when you're not reallypassionate about something.
So, you know, just saveyourself a lot of time and even
if it seems risky, even ifyou're nervous about it, just go
for it, because you know whoyou are and nobody can take that
from you and it's also thething that makes you stand out
(55:00):
from others Awesome.
Raul Lopez (55:02):
And then my last question for you before we go is
how do you say success inSpanish?
What does success mean to you?
Jon Marcantoni (55:10):
And it's authenticity, authenticity all
the way.
You know the way you interactwith people and the way that you
engage with your loved ones,with your community and, mostly,
with yourself.
You know if you're spending yourdays just posting online, like
online is the last place you'llever be, authentic, um, you know
(55:33):
, um, I mean I, I know, but, buthe's like a buddy of mine, like
jerry star has.
He's done a great job ofshowcasing his authenticity
online, um, but he is a rarityand he's also very self-aware
about what he is presenting tothe world.
Most people aren't.
Most people are really justtrying to get the likes and
(55:57):
really just trying to fit in.
And you know, simply becauseyou can express an opinion
doesn't mean that yourinsecurities and your fears
aren't coming out in thatopinion.
You know, I, I'm definitelysomeone who believes that if, if
(56:17):
people are agreeing with everysingle thing that you're saying,
then you need to think aboutwhat you're saying.
You know, because if you'rereally being yourself and you're
really being honest, you'regoing to have some pushback and
you want that.
You want dialogue with people.
You don't want to be a dictatorwho just everybody is a yes,
man or woman and letting you getaway with your worst tendencies
(56:41):
.
You want people who will callyou on your garbage and yeah, so
it's just authenticity man,nice man.
Well, john, it's been wonderfulhaving you on your garbage and
yeah, so it's just authenticityman.
Raul Lopez (56:49):
Nice man.
Well, john, it's been wonderfulhaving you on here.
You know, if you want, tell mea little bit, tell me how people
can help out, just any way theycan help out, or keep up to
date with what you guys aredoing.
Yeah.
Jon Marcantoni (57:03):
You know, follow Flamboyant Theatre at flamboyan
F-L-A-M-B-O-Y-A-N underscoretheater and that's theater E-R,
not R-E, so at Flamboyanunderscore theater on Instagram.
That's the best way to keep upwith what we're doing.
(57:24):
And you know, yeah, that's thebest way to keep up with what
we're doing.
And you know, yeah, that's thebest way.
Nice.
Raul Lopez (57:30):
All right.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on here.
I really appreciate you takingthe time.
I appreciate the fact that youreached out to me as well.
I wish you all the best and Ilook forward to you know what
more comes from you guys outthere in Denver.
So thank you so much.
No, thank you, I appreciate youand I love, love your show and I
(57:50):
hope you have much success fora long time.
Thank you, I really.
I really do appreciate thatwhen random people hit me up and
say, hey, I listened to yourshow and it's not just somebody,
I know it's like that feelsgreat.
I'm really glad that I'mgetting a reach out there.
So I do appreciate you takingthe time and for everyone else
listening, you know.
Thanks again for jumping on andlistening and I hope you'll
join me again next time as wecontinue to learn how to see
success in space.
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