La Lupe

"La Lupe", or "La Yiyiyi", (born "Lupe Victoria Yolí Raymond", December 23, 1936 - d. February 291992) was a Cuban Latin and Salsa singer. Born in the barrio of San Pedrito, Santiago de Cuba, her father was a worker at the local Bacardi distillery and was a major influence on her life and he strictly encouraged her to become a school teacher. Just like her counterpart, Celia Cruz, she qualified as a schoolteacher before she became a singer.

She married in 1958 and formed a musical trio with her husband Eulogio "Yoyo" Reyes and another female singer. This group "Los Tropicuba" broke up with the marriage in 1960. She began to perform her own act at a small nightclub in Havana, "La Red", and acquired a devoted following also appearing on radio. She released her first album, "Con el Diablo en el Cuerpo" ("With the Devil Inside") on Discuba in 1961. Her expressive performances with their violent sexuality attracted criticism that she was a poor example to the revolutionary state, this led to professional difficulties which together with personal problems made it difficult to stay in Cuba.

In 1962 she found herself exiled to the United States. In New York City she performed at a cabaret named "La Barraca", where she was discovered by Mongo Santamaria and started a new career, making more than 10 records in five years.

Her passionate performances covered the range of music: son montuno, bolero, "Guantanamera" venturing into other Caribbean styles like Dominican merengue, boogaloo, Venezuelan Golpe Tocuyano, Puerto Rican bomba and plena, , busamba, salsa. In the sixties she was the most acclaimed Latin singer in New York City due to her partnership with Tito Puente. She was the first Latin singer to sell out a concert at Madison Square Garden. She also did a wide variety of cover versions in either Spanish or accented English, including "Yesterday", "Dominique" by The Singing Nun, "Twist & Shout", "Unchained Melody", "Fever" and "America" from "from the play/film West Side Story".

A devout follower of Santeria, she continued to practice her religion regardless of the influence, fortune, and fame she had acquired throughout the height of her career. However, due to the decision by her record label, Fania Records, to end her contract in the late 1970s (mainly because the label wanted to focus on the less controversial, yet commercially-successful Celia Cruz), she saw herself destitute by the early 1980s. After being miraculously healed at an evangelical Christian Crusade, she abandoned her Santeria roots and became a born-again Christian. She died in the Bronx and was survived by her husband William Garcia, their daughter Rainbow, and her son Rene Camaro (whose father was Eulogio Reyes). She is interred permanently in Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.

Popular Culture

In the 1990s, interest in her music was re-sparked when Pedro Almodóvar included "Puro Teatro", one of her boleros of love and breakup in his film classic "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown." Due to her similarities to American singer Judy Garland such as her strong, yet raspy voice, and her energetic and unpredictable stage performances, she has become an icon among many gays in Latin America and Spain.

In 2002, New York City renamed East 140th Street in The Bronx as "La Lupe Way" in her memory.

Cuban-American writer Daína Chaviano pays homage to La Lupe in the novel "The Island of Eternal Love" (Riverhead-Penguin, 2008), where the singer appears in a cameo singing "Puro teatro".

Complete discography

* "Con el Diablo en el Cuerpo", 1960.
* "La Lupe is Back", 1961.
* "Mongo Introduces La Lupe", 1963.
* "The King Swings, the Incredible Lupe Sings", 1965. (with Tito Puente).
* "Tú y Yo", 1965. (with Tito Puente).
* "Homenaje a Rafael Hernández", 1966. (with Tito Puente).
* "La Lupe y su Alma Venezolana", 1966.
* "A mí me llaman La Lupe", 1966.
* "The King and I", 1967. (with Tito Puente).
* "The Queen Does Her Own Thing", 1967.
* "Two Sides of La Lupe", 1968.
* "Queen of Latin Soul", 1968.
* "La Lupe's Era", 1968.
* "La Lupe is The Queen", 1969.
* "Definitely La Yiyiyi", 1969.
* "That Genius Called The Queen", 1970.
* "La Lupe en Madrid", 1971.
* "Stop, I'm Free Again", 1972.
* ¿Pero Cómo va ser?, 1973.
* "Un Encuentro con La Lupe", 1974.
* "Lo Mejor De la Lupe" Compilation, 1974.
* "One of a Kind", 1977.
* "Apasionada" Compilation, 1978.
* "La Pareja", 1978. (with Tito Puente).
* "En Algo Nuevo", 1980.
* "Dance with the Queen", 2008 (Recopilatorio)
* "La Lupe Greatest Hits", 2008

Religious 1986-89

* "La Samaritana".
* "Te Amo Porque Me Amaste Primero".
* "Dios No Es Hombre Para Que Mienta".
* "La Lupe En Cristo".

References

* Aparicio, Frances R. and Valentín-Escobar, Wilson A. (2004) "Memorializing La Lupe and Lavoe: Singing Vulgarity, Transnationalism, and Gender" "Centro: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies"16(2): pp. 78-101.

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lalupe/ "LA LUPE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL"] site for Independent Lens on PBS
*imdb name|0478676
* [http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/POP/papers/divas.pdf Performances of Pleasure and Pain: Dr Vanessa Knights (pdf)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/lupevictoriayoli LA LUPE'S # 1 MYSPACE "QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL" MySpace page]