Venezuelan-Australian teens Camila and Valeria, say they were over the moon when they found out they both had been chosen to travel to the United States to represent Australia at the Youth Theatre Festival, Atlanta 2023.
The sisters are among a small group of young people, who have been selected to take musical theatre lessons in New York before the competition takes place in Georgia.
Valeria said she still felt emotional when she recalled the moment she learned she had been accepted into The Aussie All-Stars.
“I was in class, and I got a notification on my phone. I saw it was an email from the tour organisers,” she says.
I opened it and when I saw that I had been accepted, I started screaming at the top of my lungs!
Although she was overjoyed with the news, Valeria said her immediate concern was that her sister, Camila, had missed out.
"I called Camilla with my news and then she opened her email and was accepted too!” Valeria says.
“So we were super emotional because of this super, super exciting news," Valeria recalls.
Valeria and Camila Camero Rivas have lived in Sydney since the family emigrated from Venezuela. Source: Supplied
Latin American migrants representing Australia
The Aussie All-Stars is an elite youth musical theatre group that represents Australia at the annual US Youth Theatre Festival.
Just 30 members are chosen from hundreds of hopefuls Australia-wide. The Camero Rivas sisters said their selection was a great opportunity not only for professional development, but also to highlight the presence of the Latin American community in Australia.
“It’s an incredible opportunity because we both want to (eventually work) in the music theatre industry. And to go to New York and to be able to train with Broadway professionals (as part of this trip), it’s something out of this world," Valeria explains.
First stop, Broadway
The Aussie All-Stars tour doesn't just compete in the Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta 2023. During the two-week US tour, the troupe will train with local artists on Broadway, New York City’s world-renowned theatre strip.
On Broadway, The Aussie All-Stars will develop and rehearse a play under the guidance and direction of musical theatre industry experts.
Students will also attend musicals and seminars with Broadway artists, and partake in acting workshops and master classes, among other activities.
After Broadway, The Aussie All-Stars will travel to Atlanta to join thousands of young performers from around the world at the Youth Theatre Festival.
There they will participate in a musical production and learn about the latest developments in the musical theatre industry.
The last stop will be Los Angeles, where young people will have an opportunity to visit film studios, receive acting master classes and enjoy tourist attractions related to the film industry.
"The whole tour is important, especially the big event we're going to, the Youth Theatre Festival. It is a really important event for all those who are dedicated to junior theatre, because they are the people who decide which musicals will be produced,” Camila said.
The sisters share a dream of one day working in musical theatre. Source: Supplied
From Venezuela to the world stage
The girls’ parents, Ybrahim Camero and Gilda Rivas, said they couldn’t be prouder of the dedication and perseverance of their daughters in making the cut for the prestigious group.
The couple first visited Australia in 2001. They lived in the country for a couple of years as international students, before returning to Venezuela to wait for an opportunity to migrate permanently.
They said the opportunity came six years later. But by then they were a family of four with Camila aged five and Valeria almost three.
A few months after arriving, the couple began looking for activities for the girls and after some research, they enrolled Camila and Valeria in the Australian Girls’ Choir.
Eight months later, the sisters had their singing debut at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Choir’s end-of-year event.
Since then, the Camero Rivas sisters have spent their weekends at rehearsals and concerts.
The Choir has meant opportunities for Camila and Valeria to tour nationally and perform at events of international stature, but above all to discover their passion for musical theatre, something which both have been practicing for a couple of years.
Ms Rivas says the fact that her daughters had been selected for The Aussie All-Stars was proof that dreams came true in Australia.
I feel like they are an example to this generation that anything is possible, especially in this country.
Her husband says he wholeheartedly supports his daughter's dreams, and he admires their passion and commitment to their craft.
"This opportunity would have been impossible in Venezuela, or maybe in many Latin American countries, because the reality there is different,” Mr Camero said.
They showed from a very young age that they have a lot of musical talent and here that can be fulfilled.
“And if they are famous and succeed on Broadway, wonderful. And if they aren't, so be it because they are (still) living their passion.”
