[1][2][3] Her older siblings were all born in Manila, Philippines: Juan Ignacio, the eldest later became known professionally as Ignatius Jones, and became an events director, journalist, actor and shock rocker.

[6][7] In February 1988 they issued a self-titled album, which Lisa Wallace of The Canberra Times felt that "the harmonies on this disc would rival any Andrews Sisters' recording...

Michael Foster of The Canberra Times declared her voice "always amazes me... through the years, with the volume and range of sound generated from such a small, fine frame" while she "has a very strong and very accomplished and versatile backing group".

[11] For the album, the Moochers were Dickenson, Gough, McGann, Mears, Spence, now including Mike Bukovsky on trumpet and Dave Ellis on bass guitar.

[5][12] The Canberra Times' Brad Turner caught a performance which provided "some powerful and tightly-played jazz, swing and Latin standards, and of course a selection from Cotton on the Breeze, most of which Monica wrote".

[17] Trápaga authored a cookbook, She's Leaving Home: Favourite Family Recipes for a Daughter to Take on Her Own Life Journey, which was issued in October 2009.