Jacobo Montemayor: Living his fantasy on ice

By Ruben Hernandez

 Gabriel “Jacobo” Montemayor had a dream when he started ice skating at age 10 in his hometown of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

 He dreamed he would one day entertain big audiences, and that skating would allow him to travel worldwide.

 Today at age 27, when  he visits Phoenix from Jan. 9-13 in the Disney on Ice spectacular “Dare to Dream,” he bring with him years of experience entertaining millions of people and traveling millions of miles in ice-skating tours.

 Jacobo, who is the only Latino skater in the show, will appear at the US Airways Center as characters from the magical, musical Disney movies Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, and Cinderella.

 In a telephone interview from a tour performance in California, Jacobo says he invites Arizonans of all ages to experience the excitement and costumes of this Disney spectacle on ice in Phoenix.

 “The good news is that we have a special present for Spanish speakers,” he says. “One of our shows will be completely in Spanish. I love doing shows for people in my native language.”

 The Spanish show will be performed on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 4:30 p.m. This will be Arizona’s first Hispanic Disney on Ice performance, he says. Tickets for “Dare to Dream” can be purchased at www.usairwayscenter.com.  

 Jacobo says that living his dream can be a fun challenge: “We’re traveling all the time and it’s not a common type of work, but for me it’s very enjoyable work.”

 He has performed in figure skating shows in Europe, Mexico, and South America. He has competed in international competitions such as the North American Challenge Skate in the U.S. and Canada, and the Junior Grand Prix in Mexico and Europe.

 “I love traveling the world and getting to know new places and new people,” he adds.

 Each city in each country offers him new things to learn and do, he says.

 “I like to go out to different restaurants, malls, shopping streets, and do sightseeing. I hang out with my friends. As long as I’m with my friends, anything is fun!”

 Jacobo also is proud of achieving a Guinness World Record in Germany. The feat was creating a skating routine together with 65 skaters from throughout the world.

 The advice Jacobo Montemayor gives to anyone who has a dream to skate or perform professionally is, “Work hard, and it’ll pay off!”