Interview: Jaime Lozano Builds Community Through SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT VOL. 3

When composer Jaime Lozano stepped onto the stage at New Jersey’s Two River Theater in 2018 to debut three songs he had written for a local immigrant audience, he didn’t realize he was planting the seeds for a movement. “I never imagined myself first doing concerts,” he admits. “This project was born as a necessity to tell our own stories.”

That necessity grew quickly. “We did a concert. It was a sold-out concert,” he recalls. “After the concert a lot of people [were] asking, ‘Where can we find the songs?’” That demand led to the creation of SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT, a musical theatre-infused tapestry of immigrant stories told through a Latiné lens. What began as a one-night concert became a multi-volume recording project, with the third installment, SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT VOL. 3, dropping August 22 via Concord Theatricals Recordings.

For Jaime Lozano & The Familia, storytelling and community go hand in hand. Featuring a who’s who of award-winning Latin artists and Broadway stars, including Krystina Alabado, Tom Kitt, Lorna Courtney, Didi Romero, and Lozano’s wife and longtime collaborator Florencia Cuenca, SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT VOL. 3 dives deeper into the multifaceted Latiné immigrant experience.

“These are stories about parenting, about missing your home, struggling, feeling in between, struggling with the language,” Lozano shares. “But there’s all kinds of stories. Even for someone who is trying to reconnect with their roots, even if they were born in the United States. That’s the beauty of it. We are all Latinos, immigrants, or whatever. That’s just a label in some way, but we are so different at the same time. And that is so rich.”

The Familia continues to grow with every volume, and Lozano makes it a point to bring in artists who inspire him. “The reason why we’re doing all these albums is because there’s always more family,” he says with a smile. “All these people that I admire, that I’ve been following their careers, that I’ve seen their music, and I’ve been to their concerts.” He points out that admiration often comes before love, then “after that admiration, when I’m writing many of the songs, I’m already thinking about who is going to sing them.”

Some of those connections are years in the making while others are more spontaneous. “I saw this amazing guy performing as Washington on stage,” he says, referring to Tamar Greene’s performance in HAMILTON. “I didn’t know him before. I reached out via Instagram, and he said yes.”

One standout collaboration on the new album is “Far From Home,” featuring Didi Romero, pianist Oscar Hernández, and legendary saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. “Paquito has won all these Grammys. He just got into the studio, recorded the sax solo in two takes, it was very fast, but he was so open and so generous,” Lozano says, still a little awestruck. “We’re building this community based on generosity.”

Lozano also credits his co-lyricists Nathan Tysen, Marina Pires, David Davila, and more for helping to shape the songs and stories. “Maybe I’m one of those composers who has collaborated with more people,” he laughs. “In total, in my whole career, I have collaborated with almost 100 lyricists in some way. Just having the chance to collaborate and learn from their experiences as human beings and as artists is amazing.”

Despite the diverse styles and voices, the album maintains a unified sound. “Even if I’m writing a song that is more Latin, more Mexican, or more musical theater,” Lozano explains, “I think I’m a composer whose voice is very clear in everything I do. I’ve learned to find my own voice through the years.”

As the album readies for release, Lozano is also preparing for a celebratory concert at Sony Hall on August 25, which is a major step up in scale and stakes. “Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, they are more like musical theater niche venues,” he explains. “Sony Hall is a larger room. It’s a challenge.” But it is one that he’s ready for. “Every step we’re doing, every choice is riskier every time. We’re doing it not because we know that we can do it. We’re doing it because we want to do it and because we are scared to do it. But we believe in ourselves as artists.”

This sense of mission runs deep. “As immigrants, sometimes it’s hard for us to show up in some ways,” Lozano says, speaking candidly about living in the U.S. with a Green Card but without full citizenship. “We don’t have a lot of money, but the thing we can do most is to speak through our art, through our songs, through our shows.”

“I’m more fluent through music than I am through my spoken word,” he continues. “These stories come from the heart and come from honesty. If someone relates with one song, that’s already a win.”

At the heart of Lozano’s work is the unwavering belief in the power of representation. “When I was a kid, the word Broadway or the words musical theater weren’t in my vocabulary,” he says. “I didn’t know anything about theater and music. I got to know this when I was 18 or 19 years old. I know a lot of immigrants haven’t had many opportunities to see people like themselves, people with accents, different colors, different backgrounds. We need to put that on stage.”

As far as what audiences can expect from the Sony Hall performance, Lozano leans into his ethos. “They can expect someone doing what they love to do on stage and just being themselves. Some might laugh, some might cry, some might get angry, some might dance. All that is born from a unique experience they’re going to have there.”

If you’re wondering about the moment he fell in love with musical theatre, Lozano offers two tales. One about hating JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR airing every Easter on TV as a kid before later performing it and falling in love with the form. The other is when he spotted a flyer that led him to the Off-Broadway run of IN THE HEIGHTS. “The first thing I heard was a voice in Spanish, the clave of Latin music, and someone rapping in Spanglish. I thought, ‘What I want to do about myself and my stories is possible.’”

SONGS BY AN IMMIGRANT VOL. 3 is more than an album. It’s a love letter to possibility, to representation, and to the power of music to build bridges. You can pre-save it HERE, and you can buy your tickets to the August 25 concert at Sony Hall HERE.

Follow Jaime Lozano
Website: www.jaimelozano.net
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Twitter/X: @jaimelozano
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