Interview: Florencia Cuenca on Real Women Have Curves and Where to Find the Best Mexican Food in NYC

Mexico City–born singer, actor, writer, and director, Florencia Cuenca has carved out a multifaceted career rooted in authenticity and representation.

Now based in New York City, Cuenca is known for her commitment to uplifting the Latinx community through storytelling and theater, with credits ranging from her acclaimed album Broadway in Spanglish to the new Broadway musical Real Women Have Curves, in which she costars.

We spoke with Cuenca about what the show means to her, the legacy of her late father, the importance of telling your own story, and what it’s like to stand in your power onstage.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

What do you want audiences to take away from Real Women Have Curves?
Everyone can relate to something. I’ve heard this at the stage door and in interviews. You don’t have to be Mexican. You don’t have to be Latina. You don’t have to be an immigrant to relate to this story. It’s about dreams. It’s about family dynamics. It’s about honoring your parents. It’s about working in a community. Hopefully every audience member, when they leave, they can see that we are not that different.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I will vaguely allude to the shedding of clothing and how refreshing that was to see, as a woman.  The confidence on that stage was awesome!
Every night, it’s like, “ok. Here we go. Let’s do this.” And we’re in this together and it’s so special to get to do this with mis hermanas. They are my sisters and I can do it because we’re doing it together, first of all, and because in the story, it’s not just about getting rid of their clothes because it’s just hot. It’s more than that. Every character is going through something, and they need to get rid of all thoughts. All the things that people have said about you. So it’s like you’re getting rid of layers. Spiritually, mentally and physically.

Your dad was a comedian. Did he give you your sense of humor?
Yeah, definitely. I started acting with him when I was three years old. That was my first time on a stage, and since that moment, this was my passion. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. He was my first maestro, my mentor, my everything. And he introduced me to musical theater. He would play The Sound of Music or Singing in The Rain. He passed away when I was nine years old, but everything that he taught me during my first years, I still carry it with me.

You are a musician, you write, you have taught. What are you happiest doing?
All of it. I’m always doing all of them at the same time, but everything started as a need and a necessity. When I first moved to New York almost 10 years ago, the industry was in another place. I started directing and writing because I saw that the representation the Latino community had sometimes wasn’t accurate. And it’s very tricky when our stories are told by someone else.

So, I was like, maybe I need to start writing if I want to portray it in an authentic way, a respectable way. I think that’s part of my mission as an artist, to represent my community with dignity and in an accurate way. That’s why I started directing, that’s why I started writing, and now my passion is doing everything that I can just to uplift.

What would you tell you younger self as you were thinking about moving to New York?
I would tell her that she was right because my younger self has always been right. It’s the adult one who’s always like, oh, maybe I’m not good enough. But the young one, she was wise. She knew we could do it, and I think that’s something that I am always trying to connect with and I cannot stress this enough.

This dream felt so far away it felt impossible. I was a curvy Mexican living in Mexico. My mom, she was a widow. It was impossible for me to come to New York and study, I had that dream, but I was like,  it’s impossible. How can I leave my mom? I have other siblings. I cannot do that to her. Just like in in the play. Ana thinks about it too, right?

How can we hear more of your music?
I have an album called Broadway in Spanglish. I sing the Broadway tunes, but in Spanglish. I think everyone should check it out, especially Broadway fans. You don’t have to be Mexican or Latino to enjoy that. It’s just a different sound with songs that you already know from Hamilton, Frozen, Company, and Waitress.  I’m thinking about doing one of the songs that I sing in Real Women Have Curves.

What is your favorite place to eat in New York for authentic Mexican?
Los Tacos No. 1 at 43rd Street here in Midtown, but they are all over the place. Those are the best tacos. When we first tried them, my husband and I, we were like, oh, my God, finally. They are more like North Mexico style because in Mexico, food is big and we have so many kinds of cuisines. In the North, that’s how they do them. It’s just like a regular Mexican taqueria. You go. You order. There are no seats. You have to stand up, and you enjoy your taco.