Los Angeles-based artist San Cha is no stranger to experimentation. As a queer ranchera singer, composer, and performer, San Cha has spent her career blending genres and defying expectations. Now, she is taking her unique artistic vision to new heights with her experimental opera, Inebria me, which makes its Los Angeles debut on Oct. 16 at REDCAT in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. This 90-minute avant-garde opera, drawing on her critically acclaimed 2019 album La Luz de la Esperanza, is a reimagined telenovela that adds a layer of queerness and catharsis to the traditional melodrama, reshaping the boundaries of opera and popular Mexican culture.
San Cha, born Lizette Gutierrez in San Jose, California, comes from a family of Mexican immigrants. Her early exposure to both the teachings of the Bible and the escapist world of telenovelas has shaped much of her artistic trajectory. In Inebria me, she channels her childhood fascination with the classic telenovela format, blending it with experimental opera to create a story filled with spirituality, sin, guilt, and redemption, all wrapped in glamor and electronic beats.
Reimagining Tradition: From Rancheras to Opera
“Inebria me” tells the story of Dolores, a humble bride trapped in a suffocating marriage with her wealthy husband Salvador, whose jealousy ultimately turns violent. Dolores’s journey toward freedom is guided by Esperanza, a genderless spirit of empowerment. The themes of entrapment and liberation run deep, but it is the musical elements and narrative twists that set Inebria me apart from traditional opera.
San Cha’s unique voice and musical style, grounded in ranchera and Mexican folklore, inject a fresh energy into the opera format. “I didn’t grow up wanting to be an opera singer,” she admits, “but somehow it developed in that direction.” Her operatic approach integrates the passion of rancheras with elements of pop and electronic music. The result is a genre-blending performance that feels both contemporary and timeless.
“I wanted to hold onto the queerness of the story and the religious aspects of it,” says San Cha, reflecting on how themes of sin and redemption play out in Inebria me. This desire to explore these themes in an unconventional way is what gives the opera its magnetic quality. The traditional opera structure is still there—everything is sung, except for parts where male characters speak—but San Cha fuses it with the melodrama and heightened emotions of a telenovela, creating a hybrid experience that feels both emotionally raw and richly theatrical.
The Queer Telenovela Twist
The influence of telenovelas on Inebria me is unmistakable. Growing up in a home where religion and telenovelas were equally present, San Cha sees the two as intertwined in her work. “I wanted to make a telenovela set to music,” she explains. “And because I’d never seen a queer telenovela, I just wanted to create one, set to electronic, glamorous music.”
Telenovelas are famous for their exaggerated plots and extreme emotional stakes. From the melodramatic betrayals to the over-the-top villains and tragic heroines, they capture the essence of human emotion in a way that no other genre does. In Inebria me, these tropes are amplified and queered. The opera’s darkly glamorous world contains all the expected tension—jealousy, betrayal, love, and spiritual crisis—but is underpinned by a fierce sense of empowerment and self-acceptance.
San Cha’s concept of a queer telenovela is revolutionary, as it reimagines what the genre could be in a world that has only recently begun to accept LGBTQ+ visibility in mainstream media. In Inebria me, the character Esperanza, a genderless spirit, becomes a vehicle for personal transformation and freedom, offering Dolores a chance at liberation from both her oppressive marriage and the societal norms that bind her. “Everyone in this piece is a star, everyone’s a diva,” says San Cha, capturing the essence of the piece’s larger-than-life characters.
Drag Culture and Religious Themes
Drag culture plays a key role in San Cha’s artistic evolution. As she recalls her early career, drag queens were some of the first to influence her artistic approach, especially in her time spent in the underground drag scene in the Bay Area. “Drag was life-changing,” she notes, referencing how RuPaul’s Drag Race became a cultural touchstone for her and many others. “This is literally life-changing… and how cool that this is becoming mainstream!”
However, drag culture also remains marginalized, and that paradox is evident in San Cha’s work. “Visibility doesn’t always mean safety or acceptance,” she observes. Drag, once considered fringe, is now a globally recognized part of pop culture, yet it’s still often met with hostility. This tension between acceptance and demonization permeates Inebria me, where characters navigate their desires and identities in an oppressive society. The religious elements, particularly the themes of sin, guilt, and confession, serve as both a critique of and a confrontation with these societal constraints.
In Inebria me, the act of confession becomes a crucial part of the narrative. Dolores and other characters must come to terms with their actions and the shame that is heaped upon them by external forces. “In the Catholic practice of confession, it is important to relieve yourself of the shame and guilt. But it’s almost like you relieve yourself and then you feel shame,” San Cha explains. This cyclical nature of guilt and shame prevents growth, evolution, and freedom, ultimately trapping the characters in their own emotional turmoil.
The Visual Language of Inebria me
The visual aspects of Inebria me are just as striking as its narrative and musical elements. Stage designer Anthony Robles employs minimalistic design choices that are both haunting and effective in creating the oppressive atmosphere of the opera’s world. “It’s super minimal, but it does so much for the space,” San Cha says. The stark, almost barren set accentuates the emotional intensity of the story, with each element on stage serving to heighten the tension between the characters and their internal struggles.
“Inebria me” is as much a visual spectacle as it is a musical one. The costumes, lighting, and staging work together to create a world that feels simultaneously glamorous and suffocating, reflecting the inner conflicts of the characters. The use of light and shadow, combined with the minimalist set design, helps to create a sense of foreboding and emotional weight that adds depth to the characters’ journeys.
Why “Inebria me” Matters
For those unfamiliar with opera or experimental theater, Inebria me might seem an unlikely choice, but San Cha is confident that anyone can find something to connect with in the performance. “I think there is something for everyone,” she says. “Maybe they could be into the scene design, maybe they could be into the acting or the music. It’s a story that relates to a lot of people.”
Inebria me is more than just an opera; it’s an artistic revolution, offering a queer reimagining of a genre and cultural tradition that has historically excluded voices like San Cha’s. It combines religious themes, drag culture, and the intoxicating melodrama of telenovelas into a powerful statement about freedom, self-discovery, and empowerment.
San Cha’s fearless embrace of her unique voice—both literally and artistically—makes Inebria me a bold and unforgettable piece of theater that challenges boundaries and expectations. For those ready to break from tradition, this opera offers a world of new possibilities.
