Mariana Muñoz, director of “Amores de Cantina,” spoke with Knight Arts about her upcoming performance during Teatro Avante’s XXIII International Hispanic Theatre Festival. Based on the work of Juan Radrigán, the Chilean playwright whose work addresses issues of a marginalized society living under a military dictatorship, “Amores de Cantina” is a musical tragicomedy set in a bar where the characters express their sorrows about a devastated homeland. “Amores de Cantina,” co-sponsored by Chile’s National Council of Culture and the Arts and the General Consulate of Chile in Miami, opens Saturday, July 9, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 10, 5 p.m. at the Carnival Studio Theatre at the Arsht Center.

Neil de la Flor: Why did you choose to direct “Amores de Cantina?”

Mariana Muñoz: My job as a theater director has been based mainly on the development and research around the work of Juan Radrigán, who addresses issues of marginality and other existential questions. I relate to Radrigán’s work on a personal level, which has followed me throughout my career. Furthermore, the way he uses language, shapes characters and their stories — full of emotion and urgency — deserves the deepest respect and admiration. Beyond that, my immediate impulse to use his narrative as material for a stage production is both artistically and politically motivated.

“Amores de Cantina” is my fourth work as a director based upon Radrigán’s work. The play carries his stamp, and I have tried to cover his intention by using singing as a language that mixes with a structure that belongs to the musical theater genre. This genre is very interesting, and, in the case of “Amores,” it has been a challenge to reach the level of questioning and discovery needed to interpret this particular work. The musicality of his work is also a pleasure for actors and actresses to work with and for me as a director.

ND: Would you talk about the themes and what you consider to be the most important elements of the work?

MM: The play is about love, heartbreak, death and questioning the existence within a landscape that is divided between hope and despair. The story results in a great metaphor about the history of a country and the feelings of belonging to the peculiar reality of Chile.

ND: What can the audience expect from the performance? MM: We hope all audiences will enjoy a play that is both a concert of a band of diverse musical styles and a piece of musical theater.

ND: How did you prepare for this dramatic piece, and what were the major obstacles you encountered?

MM: Our work began in 2010 with a testing process designed to create a dramatic reading for this piece as part of the National Show of Drama that it is done every year in our country. Afterward, we created the music for some of the songs the author intended, and we mixed the songs with the reading format as a way to to establish a dialogue of words with music. The result was very rewarding, and this was the reason for our invitation to assemble the work under the sponsorship of the production wing of the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral.

The biggest obstacles we encountered were related to the mixture between the musical work and pure theater, as well as the exact structure of the project for the kind of musical theater we wanted to build. Afterward, the character creation developed along the same lines. To reach a balance between the formal, the playful and the emotional aspects was anything but easy. However, the process has been very successful, with many moments of joy and discovery, allowing for lots of inspiration and enlightenment along the way.

ND: Biggest triumph? MM: Our work, its history and topics, transcend geographical barriers and will move people regardless of nationality.

ND: What’s next for you after the festival? MM: We will tour different cities of Chile, and our season will start later in September with the celebration of the first year of the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, an organization that enables us to exist.

Teatro Avante is a previous Knight Arts Challenge winner.

“Amores de Cantina” (Barroom Love) by Juan Radrigán, directed by Mariana Muñoz, Saturday, July 9, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 10, 5 p.m. Carnival Studio Theatre, Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Tickets: 305-949-6722 / 1-866-949-6722 (toll-free), or visit www.arshtcenter.org.