We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Mazon Franqui a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I grew up in a musical home,with a grandpa of profound sensibility and amateur musical knowledge, who would listen everyday attentively to the radio music from Bach to Schoenberg, and an aunt who was a 1st figure of the Cuban Opera.At home the classics became my childhood songs and music was all around. My family was heavily interested in books, art and everything related to knowledge and sensibility, and on those days without electricity we used to entertain ourselves by telling stories, playing music or even making little “family shows”. You can see pictures of me at 2 years old “playing” the piano, singing, and trying all sorts of costumes created by my mom,and I think that those speak for themselves. Those were happy times.
As my interest in music was growing, at the early age of 6, I began my musical studies, receiving piano lessons from pianist and composer Maria Matilde Alea, one of the most renowned female composers of the past century in Cuba. Discovering notation, the infinite possibilities of music, and the magic of the Cuban rhythmic combinations, was like entering into a new and magical world, a world that most children my age in my school didn’t understand. At that point, I realized I was somehow different, and that music could be my path.

At 9 years old, my aunt(after acknowledging that maybe I was meant to be a musician), decided to take me to audition to be part of a specialized music school called Alejandro Garcia Caturla Conservatory of Music.

At that time, I really had no idea that the guitar would be my instrument, I had never even played one. But I wanted to be a musician, and after many rounds of examinations I was accepted, and they decided that the guitar was the suitable instrument for me.

However, the moment I had a revelation was when I went to see the Concierto de Aranjuez at the Auditorium and was mesmerized by the possibilities of my instrument. That day I made it my goal to play it some day and fell in love with the Classical Guitar.

I think that for me it was the obvious choice to follow the musical path back then. My family loved music, my aunt was already a successful musician, and in Cuba, a career in music was something respected and celebrated, it had a certain glamour and everybody really admired and celebrated it.

The challenge in my mindset actually happened when I got to the USA, where the focus was different. Here is all about “financial security”, not running many risks, and having “cash flow”, therefore, a career in music, and even more, in classical/instrumental music is not really what people consider a profitable or steady career, and is often looked upon(like many creative paths!).

However, by then I had had a whole life devoted to music, and there was no going back. I think in music, I live through art, and without it, I just can’t function. And somehow, the universe has provided the opportunities to do that and pursue my artistic path professionally, which I am grateful for every day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a classical guitarist., recording artist, composer, and teaching artist. I was trained and formed on the traditions of the classical guitar and that is what I have been doing for more than 2 decades. However, I like to explore great music from other genres and like to be, like the amazing cellist Tina Guo says: a genre-fluid musician. I also enjoy diving into the diversity of the styles and ways of playing the guitar as a whole and play electric and acoustic/crossover guitar too.

But there is also something else: I consider myself a music artist, a storyteller through music, and that involves having a conscious(almost activist like) mindset and values that you represent with your work(in my case, become an advocate for female empowerment, championing the music by minorities and contemporary creators and performing the music from my Hispanic and Latin American heritage), and thinking beyond the instrument itself, trying to envision concerts as immersive experiences, as cultural visitations, and always coming up with creative collaborations with partners from the other art expressions such as dance, photography, visual arts or cinema, and creating sort of “magical escape worlds” with my music.

I am also a music educator. I offer private online lessons at ForteLessons, in-person lessons at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, masterclasses and workshops for diverse guitar festivals, competitions, and non-profit organizations, and you can also find my pre-recorded masterclasses at Elite Guitarist.com.

And finally, I would like to say that I am an emerging composer(although I admire and respect that occupation so much that it almost feels strange to say that out loud!), focused now on bringing the guitar back to the screen/film scoring industry and exploring all the richness that the instrument has to offer.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I wish non-creatives could understand all the hard work that happens ehind the secenes of any artist/creative. Are path is often challening, never linear, and there are many “bumps on the road”. It takes a lot of courange and love to become a creative and to pursue an artistic career.

I my case, I started my life and my music journey in an extremely poor communist country under dictatorship. There was a lot of sacrifice from the very beginning, but there was also a lot of love.

Also, coming from Cuba, I landed in this country with a bag full of dreams and nothing in my pocket. Here in the US, even though I found open doors to professional development and higher education; I have worked hard, pushing myself to the limits in order to fit into a new social and economic system, learn a new language, continue my career path, and understand the role of culture in this society, trying not to lose myself, my identity, and values in the confusing process of embracing a new life.

Constant self-improvement, bravery, and philosophical inquiry are essential components of a musician. Those qualities were the major force that drove me to apply for the Master in Music program at the Frost School of Music, nine months after my arrival to this country. In 2016, surpassing immigrant stereotypical expectations, I was being accepted to this institution with a Tuition Scholarship and being able to live off my music career. Since then, my personal story has become one of growth and discovery, not exempted of nostalgia, sacrifice, tears, challenges, and fails; but with the enormous reward of knowing that I am living a meaningful life, developing my career to attain my highest dreams and aspirations.

Moreover, being a woman in music, and even more, in the male-dominated guitar world, has been another challenge, but nothing that constant self-improvement, endurance, and bravery cannot overcome.

All the “bumps” on the road made me who I am, as an artist and advocate, and a conscious citizen of the world. They are all part of my storytelling and my unique voice, but as you can see, the artistic path is not for the faint of heart, and behind every successful concert, every new release, and every “glamorous’ happening, there is a lot of commitment, hard work, and daily dedication. Every day, you choose to continue being an artist, sometimes against all odds.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

As my career advances and new prospects unlock, a deeper sense of commitment develops as my center of philosophical and artistic drive. These are times of cultural globalization, emotional alienation, violence, lack of education, security and well-being, human rights desecration, power abuse, poverty, religious conflicts, gender inequality, and child exploitation, where art needs to have a great and undeniable positive role. Being an artist is having a voice, becoming a role model, and so a social posture is almost unavoidable. And I want to be a voice for good, and for positive change.

Driven by these convictions, I navigate my choices and career. Therefore, I consider myself not only a musician but a storyteller, and hopefully, a positive role model,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauramazon.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/llillaura/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-mazon-franqui-b14534ba/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPJ2eeYKX9cXQdgZYbxN8fA

Image Credits
Image Credits: Juan Espino Alexander Alfonso