An Interview with Composer Aldo Max

The Denver Center Theatre Company’s Destiny of Desire: A Telenovela Play with Music features brand-new music by composer and music producer Aldo Max. Aldo uses a rich blend of musical styles throughout his compositions for Destiny, including Cumbia, Rumba Guaguancó, Son Montuno, Huapango, Tango, Bachata, Merengue, Canción ranchera (Ranchera), and Bolero. He took time during rehearsals to answer a few of our questions.

What influences did you look to when you began composing? Were there particular telenovelas that inspired your work on Destiny of Desire? 

Latin American composers and musicians like Rubén Blades, Willie Colón, Carlos Vives, Los Van Van, and Chucho Valdés, as well as compilations such Tequendama de Oro. In particular, I remember the Argos production of Demasiado Corazón (1997), which featured a salsa main theme composed by Willie Colón. I think it broke some conventions around music in telenovelas by capturing a truly Latin spirit. 

Did the “Brechtian” production style cause you to think differently about your approach? 

Actually, yes! Especially with one operatic music track that helps bring the play into this Brechtian mood and gives the scene a more epic feeling. In a way, it also brought me closer to the kind of work I do as a film score composer. 

Since this is an inherently collaborative process, how did conversations with the rest of the creative team influence your choices as a composer? 

That was a fundamental part of the process. We started meeting with Karen (Zacarías, playwright) and Marcela (Lorca, director) from the very beginning, and they gave me a lot of feedback that helped me understand where the play needed to go. A big part of our work as composers is “translating” dramaturgical ideas into actual music. 

Could you walk us through your composing process? 

As I said, the process began with meetings, phone calls, and reading the script. I also did some research into Afro-Caribbean rhythms that could bring the play into this Latin spirit. I’ve been a lover of Latin rhythms since I was a teenager, so this was an incredible opportunity to dive deeper into them. 

Was there something that seemed particularly important to bring to the music of Destiny of Desire? 

I wanted to bring this Latin musical spirit to the play, honoring the great authors and musicians who have shaped this tradition rather than simply creating conventional telenovela music. 

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) NewsCenter is the organization’s editorial platform for stories, announcements, interviews, and coverage of theatre and cultural programming in Colorado. We are committed to producing accurate, trustworthy, clearly sourced journalism that reflects our mission and serves our community.