ok since mireya is new can u talk more abt her in general? how does she feel abt what her parents did to keep her alive ? how does she deal with that ? what got her into dancing ? how's her relationship with alondra ? does mireya ever feel isolated from all the other dancers ? talk abt her and michael <:)
HOT SEAT
ok ! so the entire concept surrounding mireya is based off of the origin story of el cuco/el cucuy— he’s kind of like the bogeyman. legend has it that the real name of el cucuy is francisco ortega, and sometime during the early 20th century he got sick with tuberculosis. because he was so desperate to find a cure, he visited a curandera, who told him that he’d be healed if he drank the blood of children and rubbed fat on his chest. so he did, by kidnapping a child, and the rest is history. this is very similar to what happened with mireya— she was sickly as a baby, and her parents felt that “modern medicine” wasn’t providing the help she needed. they needed to go a step further, and they did, by seeking out a curandera themselves. the curandera suggested that they supplement her diet with human flesh and blood, which she would provide. even though her parents were against the idea, if it was guaranteed to save their child they were willing to go against their morals. so they did.
the curandera was right— it didn’t take long for mireya’s health to go above and beyond their expectations, but it required maintenance. and nothing came without a price. her dna began to change as a side effect of the magic, and something that had once been used as a supplement became necessary for her survival. she’s neither mad at her parents nor resents them for their decision, but it took some time for her to become fully accepting of her situation. she knew only one other supernatural while growing up— eunha. while it was nice to know that she wasn’t completely surrounded by humans, she still felt alone because she didn’t know any other ghouls. combine that with your traditional teenage angst, and it made growing up a party. /sarcasm
she took up dance during middle school— it was the one way mireya felt she could escape from her bone-crushing identity crisis. when she danced, she could put her increased stamina and flexibility to good use. for the first time in a long while, she felt at peace. it was mireya’s love of dance that drove her to become head of the dance squad in high school, and in her free time she joined various dance companies to not only increase her exposure but to gain experience. she knew from the get-go that she wanted to dance for the rest of her live— there weren’t any ifs, ands, or buts. it was around this time that youtube covers started to gain traction, and for the laughs, she decided to post a couple herself. she didn’t expect anything exceptional to come out of it since she mostly wanted to use them to document her improvement, but that’s when the email came.
before mireya knew alondra on a personal level, she was a fan. she grew up watching her (and alana) on tv and looked up to her more than anyone— it was rare for her to see someone who looked like her on screen. but she did. when alondra took a break from acting to pursue music, mireya supported her wholeheartedly, and it was her dream to be able to share the stage with her. she saw an alondra that was hard working, independent, and passionate— everything that she began to see within herself. one of her favorite dance covers was to one of alondra’s songs, and it was that same cover that blew her channel out of the water. that same cover is what caught alondra’s attention, and she knew that she wanted to work with mireya. it was from this point on that mireya’s relationship with alondra went from idol to coworker to big sister. both women are mexican, and having that culture in common provided a good foundation for their relationship. neither one of them had an exceptionally large friend group, so mireya often found herself hanging out with alondra outside of rehersals— the rest is history!
when mireya saw michael she had a feeling that he wasn’t human. she can sense that shit, you know? so she made it a point of hers to get to know him, and the youngest dancer she had to start somewhere! she’s grateful that she has him in her life— she didn’t have too many friends growing up, and she’s more of a quality over quantity type of person, especially when it comes to friends. she was already relieved to find out that he was supernatural, and a ghoul on top of it? totally. psyched. she hadn’t met another person like her before, who could understand where she was coming from. yes, her family was understanding, but there’s a difference between understanding and experiencing. there was always a sense of belonging that felt missing in her life, and when she met michael, it felt like everything had finally fallen into place. it’s no wonder that she began to look up to him, not only as a performer, but as an older brother. wherever he is, she isn’t far behind, and vice versa— it’s cute.
as for the other dancers, mireya is on pretty good terms with them, but out of everyone she’s the closest with alondra and michael. she tries to view things very professionally despite being the youngest, and she tries to learn from the others as much as possible. when you’re surrounded by the same people for hours on end, often with nowhere else to go, you need to be able to handle conflict well, and mireya can! she’s a real mediator! plus she, as well as other people in the crew, want to avoid being chewed out by alondra because they couldn’t settle their own personal issues in private!
