Secretive Facts About Felicia Montealegre, The Woman Behind Leonard Bernstein
1. She Was More Than A Wife
In her lifetime, Felicia Montealegre became known mostly as composer and conductor wife. However, with the new biopic Maestro, Montealegre has emerged as a compelling figure. Broadway star, political activist and fashion icon all describe Montealegre in her all too short life, but there’s so much more. Let’s lay out the facts on Felicia Montealegre and see this remarkable woman for who she really was.
2. She Wasn’t American
Felicia María Cohn Montealegre came into this world in San José, Costa Rica on February 6, 1922. Her mother was the Costa Rican Clemencia Montealegre and her father was Roy Cohn, an American mine executive relocated to Costa Rica. The Montealegre name had panache in Costa Rica, as her great grandfather had been one of the top politicians there.
But while they had a name, Montealegre was about to have her privileged life in Costa Rica abruptly uprooted.
3. She Wanted To Be Somewhere Else
When Montealegre’s father got a transfer, the entire family packed up and moved to a new and challenging place. This was Santiago, Chile where mom tucked Montealegre and her two sisters safely away into a private Catholic British Convent school.
Even with the posh school, Chile was not where Montealegre wanted to be.
She had her sights set on a place where she could fulfill her destiny.
4. She Needed A Way Out
Felicia was very clear from her adolescent years, she wanted to move to America and pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Unfortunately, her parents were not on board. They said that if she wanted to be an artist, she would have to be the proper kind—like a musician or painter.
Montealegre listened to them and smiled sweetly, whileshe was scheming to find a way out.
_LCCN2004663357.jpg){kind=link}
5. She Had A Proposal
When she was 21, Montealegre told her parents she would move to America and study the piano. When they objected, she reminded them that they had a famous pianist friend in New York named Claudio Arrau and he could be her teacher.
Her parents could hardly say no, and off she went.
Little did her parents know, Montealegre had a completely different plan once she hit the Big Apple.
