Rising Stars: Meet Jacqueline Herrera

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacqueline Herrera.

Hi Jacqueline, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My husband, Jeremie Levi, and I started the drive-in concert series at Mon Petit Mojave at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Jeremie is a professional musician, and we were dismayed as gig after gig was canceled, with no end in sight. Having seen Jeremie perform at everything from big Jazz festivals in Europe to busking on the street corners of Paris, the idea came to me to use our 15-acre property near Joshua Tree as a space to host concerts – but drive-in style, where people could stay safely in their car bubble. We had already been planning to host jam sessions at the property prior to the pandemic, but this idea was on another level. I had the idea on a Tuesday and we held the first one that very Saturday, March 22nd. I think eight cars showed up and we threw a rug in front of a majestic Joshua Tree and held our first show with our portable bose speakers. The show was free then and remains free to this day because we believe the arts should be accessible to all. With the support from the community, we built a small stage, bought a generator for our bigger speakers, broadcast the show to a radio station listeners can tune into from their car, have hosted over 200 musicians, dancers and artists on our stages, thousands of guests, and not one instance of COVID has been reported to stem from our concerts. We work with some amazing volunteers who help us stay COVID compliant and space out our guests’ cars and enforce mask and distancing rules.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been bumpy, as you can imagine, starting something from scratch – and in the middle of the desert nonetheless. We literally started from the dirt. We steadily invested into the stage, the generator to have power, the portable rechargeable lights for the stage which really change the ambiance, the portapotty, etc., etc. We always respected local, state, and federal COVID regulations but it was all a gray area at times as to what was allowed and what wasn’t. Once we saw that the state was allowing churches to host drive-in services, we aligned ourselves with those guidelines. We consider the arts essential to our emotional and mental well-being. Some other issues have included push back from certain members of the community who didn’t understand what we were doing. We had our fence posts stolen, some of our lighting stolen, etc. by members who consider us “not local” enough to be here, not understanding just how many of our guests are locals, and even for the tourists who frequent the Joshua Tree area, everyone is welcome. This is a unique space that brings people together in a safe way. Music is a universal language. For the most part, we have received an overwhelming amount of support from near and far and that is what keeps us going.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a writer and director of a non-profit, Kitechild. I’ve also been working in marketing for several years. I’ve always been a naturally creative person and possess somewhat of an entrepreneurial spirit. Some of my proudest work is the writing I did for The Huffington Post’s philanthropy vertical, my non-profit Kitechild entering its 10th year in doing some amazing work in Kenya, and of course, dreaming up Mon Petit Mojave and actually seeing it come to fruition and impact so many people during these crazy times we are living in – that has been a real honor. My husband Jeremie Levi is a renowned Gypsy Jazz violinist from Paris. Gypsy Jazz is his specialty, but he is very versatile and can play anything from classical to jazz. He studied and trained at the Academy of Music Tibor Varga in Sion, Switzerland, and holds a master’s in Music Theory. Some of his proudest accomplishments are his work with his French Gypsy Jazz band, Swingin Partout, an award-winning ensemble that has toured internationally and broadcast widely on European radio. Jeremie has been instrumental in building out the space at Mon Petit Mojave and most importantly, selecting the incredible talent that we have had the pleasure of inviting on stage. We are on winter break ( too cold for our musicians to play outdoors) but returning spring 2021.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
You are successful if you are happy. In regards to Mon Petit Mojave, we have defined success from the feedback we received from both artists who are excited about the opportunity to perform and our guests who enjoy the chance to get out safely and feel, even for one moment, like everything is ‘normal’ again. We kept our shows free because there is something beautiful about doing this not for money, but for the arts, for each other. It hasn’t been just us that has made this possible. It’s our incredible volunteers who selflessly give their time to be a part of something bigger. It’s our guests who donate to support our artists who are out of work. And it’s our artists who come and share their talent because they want to – it’s more than a gig, it’s a healing experience for them too.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.monpetitmojave.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/monpetitmojave
• Facebook: facebook.com/monpetitmojave
• Other: www.jeremielevisamson.com

Image Credits
Julie Laflamme