A McAllen native is living his dream on stage.

Diego Rodriguez has already been in a couple of major musicals in New York and London. He says he holds the Rio Grande Valley close to his heart as he performs in New York City and London.

"It wasn't until high school that I really started performing and I really fell in love with it," Rodriguez said. “I loved being an orator for my community, I loved being the kid from my high school that told the stories on stage for my school and my community.”

After graduating from McAllen High School in 2020, Rodriguez attended the University of Michigan to pursue an arts degree. He then headed to the Big Apple.

"To be in a place where I'm now getting paid a good amount of money to do this professionally, to do it every single day, eight times a week, it feels surreal to be this person that is an orator for a larger community," Rodriguez said.

He's performed in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway with Nicole Scherzinger and most recently in Evita with Rachel Zegler in London's West End.

"That is a huge fuel to the fire for me, understanding the area I come from and remembering where I was when I'm telling everyone these stories of where I'm from," Rodriguez said. "I carry the 956 on my chest."

Rodriguez says he's proud to represent the Valley and thankful for the education system that helped him get here.

"I implore everyone in the Valley to really see the beauty we have in our arts education," he said. "There's so many people I speak to all over the world now and they are so blown away that I can come from the area I come from and perform at the highest levels."

He recently returned from London, where Evita was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, including best musical. Rodriguez himself was nominated for best actor in a musical.

"To know and get those flowers after all this time has passed has been a really beautiful sign that people saw our work and how hard we worked," Rodriguez said.

Evita is also nominated for five Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, including best newcomer for Rodriguez, and best revival of a play or musical.

Rodriguez hopes to continue his career while proudly representing the Valley.

Diego Rodriguez is Made in the 956.

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