Dominican filmmaker Leticia Tonos is rated to be back in top form with her latest feature “Milly, Queen of Merengue,” which closes the 14th Panama International Film Festival (IFF Panama) on April 12.
It’s Tonos’ first crack at making a bio-musical. She is best known for her three dramas which have represented the Dominican Republic at the Oscars, starting with her debut feature, “Love Child” (“La hija natural”) followed by “Cristo Rey” and “A State of Madness” (“Mis 500 Locos”).
“Milly, Queen of Merengue” centers on multiple Latin Grammy-winner Milly Quezada who flees civil war in her native Dominican Republic. Alongside her family, led by her strict father, she rebuilds her life in 1970s New York, teaming up with her brothers and sister to lead their band and revel in the Latin music explosion. She is ultimately crowned the Queen of Merengue, winning a string of Latin Grammys and the Award for Musical Excellence at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards.
Quezada is an executive producer, as well as former The Mediapro Studio exec Leslie Cohen who told Variety: “‘Milly: The Queen of Merengue’ celebrates legacy, resilience and the transformative power of music—honoring an icon whose journey embodies perseverance and cultural pride.”
“It’s a privilege to reconnect with Leticia Tonos and collaborate with RMVISTAR in bringing this beautiful film to audiences around the world,” she added, referring to the time she licensed “Cristo Rey” for HBO when she was an acquisitions executive there. “Led by the extraordinary Sandy Hernandez, it is a joyful, music-filled film that feels both timely and deeply needed.”
Rose Marie Vega, founder and President at Los Angeles development and distribution outfit RMVISTAR, and Morgana Studios exec Daysi Cruz Cid also executive produce.
In an interview with Variety, Tonos reflected on how she embarked on her most ambitious project to date.
“For Dominicans and the Caribbean in general, music has always been deeply important, and it struck me that our cinema had not yet fully embraced this powerful aspect of our identity around the world,” she mused. “I have always been drawn to merengue and its contradictions. Although it is a musical genre that was once considered low-class and consumed only by the lower classes, it gradually rose through the social ranks to become an unmistakable symbol of our resilience.”
She chose to focus on Milly Quezada, not only for her music but because of her journey as an immigrant, who not only had to deal with the immigrant experience in Washington Heights but also the machismo of the time.
“What’s most striking is that more than 50 years have passed since Milly first set foot on U.S. soil, yet many of the challenges she faced are not only still present, they are now increasing.”
To find the actress to play Milly Quezada, she avoided open casting in favor of a targeted outreach to theatre professionals and a focused search with the agency, Yellow Casting. After months, she found Dominican-American thesp Sandy Hernández Cross (“The Roar of the Butterflies”) on social media, who stood out immediately despite her limited singing experience.
Through coaching and rehearsals, she proved her range in acting, singing and dance, exceeding expectations and demonstrating the presence and expressiveness required for the lead role, said Tonos. “She is an actress with extraordinary interpretative and physical expression skills. She commands the camera and embodies the presence we were looking for in a lead for this kind of film.”
To secure the rights to Quezada’s story, Tonos simply called her directly, having had previously collaborated on a film she made in 2018, “Juanita.”
While she was a bit hesitant at first, Quezada eventually granted Tonos the rights to tell her story and to make it a musical biopic. “I should say that she has been involved throughout the entire process, from the writing of the script to the recording sessions, providing invaluable feedback during the recording of the songs with Sandy Hernández. Even today, she remains engaged in all aspects of the film, contributing with remarkable generosity and courage and offering the kind of insight that makes the story more genuine.”
The toughest part was handling all the music rights and producing the soundtrack—new and challenging work that involved licensing and meeting quality standards. With Allan Leschhorn and Janina Rosado, a Latin Grammy–winning musical director and collaborator of Juan Luis Guerra, they worked hard to deliver a top-tier soundtrack.
“Then there was the whole process of translating the emotional layer into choreography, designing, in a way, a choreographic language that would truly help move the story forward and express what was happening, rather than becoming merely aesthetic or decorative at certain moments in the film. Together with choreographer Eric Guzmán, and alongside cinematographer PJ López, we made sure that the choreographic sequences not only showcased the beauty of our music and dance, but also propelled the narrative forward,” said Tonos.
Ultimately, Quezada’s story is more than just a bio-musical.
“Although the tone of the film is intentionally optimistic and positive, this was a very conscious decision, and we believe it is especially important at this moment given the presence of and the challenges facing Latino culture today. There is an underlying current throughout the narrative that speaks to much deeper themes for those willing to engage with them.”
IFF Panama runs over April 9 – 12.
Sandy Hernández as Milly, Queen of Merengue. Courtesy of Linea Espiral Prods.
