Tonatiuh Gomez
Back in high school, Tona Gomez attended the JA Mexico FIE Entrepreneurship Camp, never believing it would change the course of his life. But while he was there, surrounded by other students who had passion and vision, he decided he would do whatever it took to accomplish something big with his life. He didn’t know exactly what, but his participation in the FIE Talent Show and his journey in dance would set the stage for the inspiring career that would follow.
Today, as a principal dancer with the San Diego Ballet Company who trains an average of seven hours per day, Tona credits JA with developing the work ethic, emotional maturity, leadership, and humility required to pursue an emotionally and physically demanding career in the ballet.
““I fell in love with ballet because it wasn’t easy. The challenge is to bring your best performance wherever you are.””
He also learned resilience through JA, a trait that allowed him to not lose hope after being rejected twice by the National Center for the Arts in Mexico City (one of the most important schools in Mexico), after sustaining a serious injury that prevented him from any physical activity for over two years. Once Tona had fully healed, he had missed the age cutoff for any of Mexico’s national dance schools . . . that is, until the Superior School of Music and Dance in Monterrey extended its maximum age, and Tona came in just under the wire. He was accepted and trained extensively for one year, during which he would eat, breathe, and sleep ballet. From there, he was offered a scholarship to The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, which opened an even bigger world of opportunities, given its close proximity to New York City. Tona started traveling into the city regularly to watch ballets and go on auditions.
Although ballet is Tona’s passion, his heart is that of an entrepreneur. Throughout Tona’s training and professional dance career, he has been developing business ideas and projects with a social impact, specializing in the arts and creative industries. Prior to this, he already had one successful venture under his belt: While Tona was in college earning a B.S. in marketing, he co-created a fast-food operation that transformed a food cart (usually used to sell hot dogs or burritos) into a salad bar called Fresh & Green. When a friend wanted him to start a second location, Tona began franchising the operation, eventually creating more than 30 locations throughout Mexico.
For now, though, Tona gives the ballet company and his nonprofit organization his full attention, especially since the pandemic has given him a chance to heal from herniated discs he suffered in a late 2019 performance of The Nutcracker. At the time, just before the pandemic, doctors weren’t even sure Tona would be able to dance again. But with performances cancelled for months on end, Tona took time to heal and was surprised to find that his strength, stamina, and flexibility fully returned for the 2020 Nutcracker.
What does the future hold for Tona? He intends to keep growing in ballet, extending his entrepreneurial projects, and, perhaps, even try his hand at other performing arts ventures, such as acting. But, thanks to JA, there’s one thing he’s sure of: There will be many more startup businesses in his future.
Justin Valdez, Gather Reporter for the Americas, contributed to this story.