As part of Lincoln Center’s free Summer for the City events, running through Saturday, August 10, the Mexican-born and NYC-based musical sensation Jaime Lozano, who was a resident artist at Lincoln Center in 2023, brought his chosen “Familia” of collaborators to the open-air stage at The Dance Floor of the Josie Robertson Plaza, with its iconic ten-foot disco ball, for a one-night-only concert ¿Bailamos?, beginning at 6 pm, on Wednesday, July 31. The performance was even hotter than the evening’s high temperature and humidity, and it kept the crowd on their feet and dancing to the Latin beats of salsa, cumbia, and bachata. It also made history as the first-ever Latino-centric show presented in the popular summer series, now in its third year.
Hosted and led by Lozano, the two-hour concert featured a set list of seventeen of his original songs, all with music by Lozano, lyrics by Lozano, Marina Pires, Georgie Castilla, Nancy Nachama Cheser, David Davila, Ella Bric, and Fran Tapia, and arrangements and orchestrations by Lozano and Jesús Altamira. Lead and back-up vocals were delivered by the all-Latinx cast of Ana Isabelle, Samuel Garnica, Mayelah Barrera, Florencia Cuenca, Mario Tadeo, Mauricio Martínez, Santi Moyano, Bric, and the multi-talented Lozano, accompanied by a powerhouse band of eighteen – Lozano on piano and bajo quinto, Yahir Montes on guitars and cuatro puertorriqueño, Saúl Cosme on guitar, Joel Mateo on drums, Jonathan Gómez on percussion, Ruben Rodriguez on bass, Alberto Toro, Ole Mathisen, and Alex Hamlin on reeds, Alejandro Berti and Brian Pareschi on trumpet, Juanga Lakunza and George Sáenz on trombone, Taya Ricker and Ludovica Burtone on violin, Fung Chern Hwei on viola, Agustín Uriburu on cello, and Loic Da Silva on accordion – with Bric, in addition to her lead vocal on “Ese Mar” (music by Lozano, lyrics by Bric) performing a blockbuster trumpet solo that had the audience exuberantly screaming.
Many of the numbers were familiar hits from Lozano & The Familia’s albums Songs by an Immigrant, volumes 1 and 2, with some new material from the upcoming third volume, sung in both English and Spanish, beginning with Lozano’s singing and dancing to the lively opening “A Bailar” (for which he wrote both the music and lyrics). Together the songs embodied the range of personal perspectives and shared experiences of the Latin-American immigrant community, and every performer brought not only a resonant voice and smooth moves to the music but genuine emotion to the words, expressing the challenges and joys of being a “Dreamer” (music by Lozano, lyrics by Castilla, lead vocal by Martínez), with the always entertaining and candid Lozano providing the introductions and backgrounds, along with his signature funny comments.
The top-notch show ended with an upbeat full-company rendition of “Familia” (music by Lozano and lyrics by Castilla, who was in the audience and on the dance floor), to which everyone was invited to sing and to clap along, with the heartening Lozano noting, “We’re here for each other, we’re more than friends.” It’s a message and an example we should all appreciate and follow.
If you weren’t able to make it to the exhilarating ¿Bailamos?, be sure not to miss the very active multi-hyphenate and his super-talented wife on Friday, August 9, beginning at 7 pm, at Bryant Park Picnic Performances, for their free concert Joe’s Pub: Broadway en Spanglish: Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca. The show, developed and presented during his residency at the titular downtown venue, features fresh Mexican interpretations with exciting new arrangements and bilingual lyrics of show tunes from such legendary musicals as Hamilton, Waitress, Frozen, and more, live accompaniment by Mariachi Real de Mexico, and guest stars TBA.
Joe’s Pub: Broadway en Spanglish: Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca plays on Friday, August 9, 2024, 7 pm, on the lawn at Bryant Park, between 40th-42nd Street, Fifth-Sixth Avenue, NYC. The performance is free and open to everyone; tickets are not required. Chairs and blankets are provided at no cost, and food and drink are available for purchase, or you can bring your own.
