Review: FRIGID New York presents Jaime Lozano's touching MI OFRENDA, MIS CANCIONES at Kraine Theater

On Sunday October 22nd, husband and wife duo Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca played an intimate concert at the Kraine Theater in the East Village. The show was a loving tribute to the home they left behind in Mexico, and their newfound “family of choice” in New York. Part of FRIGID New York’s Days of the Dead festival, the one-night-only concert was called “Mi Ofrenda, Mis Canciones” (my offering, my songs), a reference to the Mexican ofrendas tradition, an honoring of the dead associated with Día de Muertos.

Lozano is an up-and-coming musical theater composer and lyricist, touted by Lin-Manuel Miranda as “the next big thing.” The concert featured some songs that he wrote in English, and some in Spanish. (Coaching the audience on a sing-along, he joked, “OK, first we’re going to do it in Spanish. Whoa-ooh-oh. Now in English. Whoa-ooh-oh. Great, you’re bilingual!”) He talked about the choice to present some of his songs in Spanish and being told, basically, that it might alienate an English-speaking audience. He said, “We hope that if you’re being honest and speaking from the heart, people will understand.”

Although I’m not a Spanish speaker, it was easy to follow the emotional meaning of all of the songs. Lozano writes beautifully crafted gems of songs, and Cuenca is such a talented actress as well as singer, everything you needed to know was in the melody, in her voice, and written all over her face. Cuenca is a masterful singer with a clear, true voice, the perfect choice as accompaniment for Lozano. The pair told their personal story throughout the show, speaking about how hard it was leaving friends and family behind in Mexico, and everything they’ve had to give up to be here, including family to help out with childcare. They didn’t explicitly say that that’s why they brought their young son to the concert, but he was there, sitting right up front and center, and clearly having a blast.

Lozano and Cuenca were accompanied by Jonathan Gómez Cornejo on drums and Yahir Montes Natera on guitar, two members of their chosen family in New York. The four of them had a palpable love for each other that was a joy to watch.

One of the last songs they performed was “No Podemos Regresar,” a touching song from Lozano’s latest album Songs by an Immigrant volume 2, which just came out. You can listen to it here: https://youtu.be/g4DvF1Wdoog

FRIGID New York’s mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work of varied content, form, and style, and to amplify their diverse voices. Click Here to visit their website.

You can find more of Jaime Lozano's work on his website and follow him on Instagram @jaimelozano.