Based on the novel The Mapmaker’s Opera by Béa Gonzalez
At its heart, this weeping romantic musical is about freedom—who possesses it, who is denied it, and what it costs to defend it.
The Last Flight is a sweeping romantic drama set in the Yucatán on the eve of the Mexican Revolution, where beauty, oppression, and destiny collide. Into this charged landscape arrives Diego Clemente, a young artist from Spain who has been commissioned by the National Geographic Society to illustrate the region’s birds. Guided by an indigenous mentor aptly named Very Useful, Diego encounters Sofia Duarte, a sharp-witted young woman yearning for freedom beyond her father’s failing bookstore and plantation. Their immediate, unspoken love is threatened by Carlos, the obsessive son of the powerful hacienda owner Don Victor Blanco Torres.
As rebellion brews among enslaved Mayan workers, secretly led by the fearless Lola Fernández, Diego and Sofia are drawn into a world on the brink of upheaval. Forced to choose between passive observation and moral action, Diego uses the chaos of revolt to liberate the captive birds from Don Victor’s aviary. His act of defiance carries devastating consequences, yet affirms the lovers’ shared dream of freedom.
Béa Gonzalez and The Mapmaker’s Opera
Béa Gonzalez was born in Spain and immigrated to Canada as a child. Following studies in Spain and Toronto, she pursued postgraduate studies in London, England, where she received an MA in Literary and Historical Studies from the University of London. Gonzalez is the author of many articles, literary essays and reviews. She is also a lecturer and educator and designs and leads tours to Spain and Latin America to study their poets and writers.
Béa is the author of three novels, The Bitter Taste of Time, The Mapmaker’s Opera (2005) and Invocation (2022). To date, her books have been published in seven countries. You can read more about Béa here.
Who’s Who in the Musical?
DIEGO CLEMENTE, a young artist from Spain
VERY USEFUL, his servant
ROBERTO DUARTE, owner of a failing bookstore and a plantation near ruin
GABRIELA, his wife
SOFIA, his free-spirited daughter
AUNT MARTA, Gabriela’s sister, a spinster
DON VICTOR BLANCO – an immensely wealthy plantation owner
CARLOS, his son, a dandy
LOLA FERNANDEZ – a rebel leader