My question will be very simple: Is there a trick to make \placeinitial 
command work within makeup pages?

One of my pages inside the /frontmater/ is a quote page within an 
special layout. Before using LMTX, when I could use the Lettrine module, 
that quote started with a capital letter. But now that I use 
\placeinitial, the first letter no longer changes: it remains a simple 
initial capital letter.
On the other hand, when I use \placeinitial for each first paragraph in 
the chapters of my book, the result is as expected. That is, the command 
works fine as long as it stays within the general layout.
This is the code I'm referring to:

\startmakeup[standard][doublesided=yes]

\setuplayout[backspace=176pt,width=194pt]
\setupinterlinespace[line=22pt]
\style[tfa]

\startalignment[hanging,flushleft,nothyphenated]
\placeinitial Ahora, vosotros que amáis, dejadme que os formule una 
pregunta: ¿quién sufre más por  ello,  Arcite  o  Palamón? ¿El  que  ve  
a  su  dama  diariamente,  pero  está  encerrado para  siempre,  o  el  
que  es  libre  de  ir  donde  le  plazca, pero  no  verá  nunca  más  
a  su  dama?  Aquellos  de  vosotros que  podáis,  elegid  entre  las  
dos  situaciones  a  voluntad; yo,  por  mi  parte, continuaré como he 
empezado.
\stopalignment

\startalignment[hanging,flushright,nothyphenated]
\blank[0.8cm,force]{\tfa\sc  Geofrey Chaucer,\hspace[big]}
\blank[0.1cm,force]{\tfa\em The Canterbury Tales \hspace[big]}
\stopalignment

\stopmakeup


Eduardo Bohoyo