When she was a little girl growing up in Mexico City, Majo Cornejo used to line up her dolls and sing to them, pretending they were the judges on a TV talent show.
She and her cousin Kary spent hours dreaming of following in the footsteps of their musical relatives (Cornejo's mother, Dinah, is a classically trained singer and her father Eduardo, a guitarist) and by the age of six, Cornejo had joined the renowned "Scholla Cantorum de México" directed by Alfredo Mendoza and had started working - her first job was providing the voice for a cartoon character in a childrens' TV series.
Then the producers of 'Creando Bolas,' a Mexican reality TV talent show came calling. It turned out that Cornejo's Tía Ana had secretly sent them a video of her singing - and so began a stint on a show that eventually led to her joining the Canadian mega troupe, Cirque Du Soleil.
"I come from a musical family," she tells me from Vancouver where she is taking a few days break from an endless cycle of touring and rehearsals for the show which opens in London this Sunday.
"Actually, my whole family is crazy about music and they are the ones who sowed the seed of the love of music in me. I have an uncle, Emilio, who is a violinist with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Mexico who has always been an inspiration to me. He's had the opportunity to play in famous concert halls around the world and now I am coming to London for the first time and I will be singing in the Royal Albert Hall where he once performed years ago."
"Leaving my family and friends was the hardest thing I had ever done, she admits , "So I am very lucky that I have found some other Mexicans - including pole dancer Diana Ham ("It is amazing watching her work, she is so accomplished.") and puppeteer Gerardo Ballester - who I have been working with from when I first joined the company four years ago. Just taking a walk with him is an artistic experience, he is so full of facts and surprising little
details about things.
"We have bonded and become very close. We often eat together - in fact I am usually the one doing the cooking - I like pozole or tacos de bistec - and they all tell me I have missed my vocation. I do love to cook."
"I am so lucky to be bringing a story that I hope will show people how beautiful my country is - and if I can inspire someone - to visit or to think about making music in some way, so much the better. I am a big believer in the power of art and the importance of having access to art and culture from an early age. I was lucky that I also had a wonderful supporter called Gabriel Martell who believed in me and gave me a scholarship to his school so I could study music."
Prior to joining Cirque du Soleil and moving to Vancouver, Cornejo racked up an impressive number of roles and several awards as well as working with megastar Juan Gabriel and Enrique Bunbury. In the future she's hoping to add the names of two of her musical idols, mexican singer Eugenia Leon and Jennifer Hudson to the list of those she's worked with and says that if she could choose just one person to duel with it would be Dominican superstar Juan Luis Guerra - "his music is the soundtrack to my life," she says.
But for now the music of Cirque du Soleil's composer and musical director Simon Carpenter is the soundtrack to her days and nights. He went all around Mexico to hear the range of musical styles that you can find such as Banda, Mariachi, Ranchera, and he's created something amazing that fits so well with the places we take audiences to on our dream journey through Mexico, she says admiringly.
And she hopes that giving people a little taste of the lesser known but magical corners of the country such as the states of Chiapas, Michoacan and San Luis Potosi will encourage people to go and see these places for themselves.
"I hope people who come will fall under Mexico's spell and want to see more of my country, she says when asked about what the future holds for Mexico - and her new baby siblings who are due to be born any day now.
"After so many years of being the youngest, I am very excited about being a big sister," she enthuses. As the cast of Luzia are promising a waking dream of Mexico, It seems that Majo Cornejo is living her own waking dream and doesn't plan on waking up anytime soon."
Luzia - a Waking Dream of Mexico opens at the Royal Albert Hall on January 12th.For more information and tickets: www.Cirquedusoleil.com
