KASEENO

I feel like I am one out of a million.”

Jasael “Kaseeno” Puesan was born in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, capital city of the Dominican Republic. His mother, Marcia Fernandez, and father, Fernando Puesan, would often discover their son in a solitude of self-expression. An introspective journey consisting of abstract drawings and the mimicking of any sound he would hear.

Jasael was two years of age when his family arrived to the United States. They first settled in the New York borough of Queens moving later to the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem; the birthplace of several artistic and professional works. Although conducive to the development of his talent, Jasael was faced with many challenges here.

“I spent most of my childhood living through the colors in my head.”

Having submitted an impressive portfolio for their consideration, the LaGuardia School of the Arts extended Jasael an invitation to study at their center for gifted youths exhibiting a command of artistic skills. Using several mediums – acrylics, chalk, charcoal, pastels - Jasael was able to express himself clearly despite a language barrier.

It wasn’t so much the focus of Jasael’s creations that made them unique, rather the colors, the textures and the emotions he was able to infuse into his work. But regardless of the subject matter, each piece was part of a much larger self-portrait. Little did he know that music would soon become his new canvas and sounds would be his new palette.

In December 2004, Jasael’s life took an unexpected turn when he traveled to Miami, Florida for a two-week vacation. When his trip “concluded”, his parents informed him that due to his misconduct they would not be returning to New York. Having experienced considerable difficulty adjusting to new environments, he was unaware of what to expect.

Removed from the familiar to the foreign, Jasael was obligated to refocus his attention to what he truly wanted out of life...music.