Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond (23 December 1936 – 29 February 1992), better known as La Lupe, was a Cuban singer of

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...

s and Latin soul known for her energetic, sometimes controversial performances. Following the release of her first album in 1961, La Lupe moved from

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and signed with Tico Records, which marked the beginning of a prolific and successful career in the 1960s and 1970s. She retired in the 1980s due to religious reasons.

Life and career

Early life and first recordings

La Lupe was born in the barrio of San Pedrito in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

. Her father was a worker at the local Bacardí

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

and a major influence on her early life. In 1954 she participated on a radio program which invited fans to sing imitations of their favorite stars. Lupe escaped from school to sing a bolero of

Olga Guillot Olga Guillot (October 9, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was a Cuban singer who was known as the "Queen of Bolero". She was a native of Santiago de Cuba. Biography Daughter of Catalan-Jewish immigrants who moved to Cuba, her father was a tailor and her ...

's, called "Miénteme" (Lie to Me), and won the competition. The family moved to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

to become a teacher. She admired

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

and like her, she graduated from teaching instruction before starting her professional singing career.Giro, p. 45 Lupe married in 1958 and formed a musical trio with her husband Eulogio "Yoyo" Reyes and another female singer. This group, Los Tropicuba, broke up along with her marriage in 1960. She began to perform her own act at a small

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

and

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

. She recorded her first album, ''Con el diablo en el cuerpo'', in 1960 for Discuba, the Cuban subsidiary of

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. On the album she was backed by two different groups directed by Felipe Dulzaides and Eddy Gaytán. Her first television appearance on Puerto Rican television caused a stir due to her frenzied, vibrant performance, which reportedly shocked some viewers.Pedro Rojas 1988. Sleeve notes to ''La Lupe: too much'', ''Charly Records'' LP HOT 123

Exile and success

In 1962 she was exiled to

México Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. She approached

and asked for her support to get work, and in turn, Celia recommended her to

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga an ...

in New York. In New York City, Lupe performed at a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

named ''La Berraca'' and started a new career, making more than 10 records in five years. She married a second time, to salsa musician Willie García, with whom she had a son. That marriage also ended in divorce. Lupe's passionate performances covered the range of music:

son montuno Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio Rodríguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to de ...

, bolero,

boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a music genre, genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly by stateside Puerto Ricans with ...

, venturing into other Caribbean styles like Dominican merengue, Puerto Rican bomba and

plena Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico. Origins The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...

. It was her recordings which brought

Tite Curet Alonso Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso (February 12, 1926 – August 5, 2003) was a Puerto Rican composer of over 2,000 salsa songs. Early years Curet Alonso (birth name: Catalino Curet Alonso) was born in Guayama, a town located in the southern region of ...

into prominence as a composer of tough-minded boleros in the salsa style. For a good part of the 1960s she was the most acclaimed Latin singer in New York City due to her partnership with

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

. She did a wide variety of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s in either Spanish or accented English, including " Yesterday", " Dominique" by

The Singing Nun Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers (17 October 1933 – 29 March 1985), better known as and often called The Singing Nun in English-speaking countries, was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic singer-songwriter and former member ...

, " Twist & Shout", "

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert ...

", "

Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

" and "America" from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''. Fred Weinberg, who was her favorite audio engineer, and also worked with Celia Cruz,

Mongo Santamaria Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo, Chad, a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction * Mongo Department, Gabon * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River) ...

, Tito Puente, and many more of the Latin American greats, and a producer on several of Lupe's albums, called La Lupe "A talent hurricane" in the studio due to her intense singing and enthusiasm. The quality of her performances became increasingly inconsistent. There were persistent rumors of her drug addiction and her life was "a real earthquake" according to statements of close friends, although Fred Weinberg, who engineered, and also produced a vast amount of her albums, stated that "In all the years I worked with Lupe, not once did I ever see her on drugs, or using drugs...Heck, she never even drank liquor due to her strong belief in religion."Rondon, César Miguel 2008. ''The book of salsa: a chronicle of urban music from the Caribbean to New York City''. University of North Carolina Press; p148 She ended some of her on-stage engagements being treated with an oxygen mask. Although she may have been poorly managed by her label

Fania Records Fania Records is a New York City, New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964 in music, 1964. The label took its name from a popular luncheonette fre ...

in particular, she managed and produced herself in mid-career, after she parted ways with Tito Puente. However, in the late 1960s her ephemeral career went downhill. The explosion of salsa and the arrival of

to New York were the determining factors that sent her into the background and her career declined thereafter. La Lupe was part of the cast of Two Gentleman of Verona with Raul Julia at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park which moved to Broadway in December 1971.

Later years and death

A devout follower of

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...

, she continued to practice her religion. Her record label

(which had previously acquired Tico) ended her contract in the late 1970s, keen to instead promote Celia Cruz's career. La Lupe retired in 1980, and found herself destitute by the early 1980s. In 1984, she injured her spine while trying to hang a curtain in her home; she initially used a wheelchair, then later a cane. An electrical fire made her homeless. After being healed at an

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

crusade, La Lupe abandoned her Santería roots and became a

born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

. In 1991, she gave a concert at ''La Sinagoga'' in New York, singing Christian songs. La Lupe died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1992, age 52, and is buried in Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.

Discography

Albums

* ''Con el diablo en el cuerpo'' (1960, Discuba) * ''La Lupe is back'' 1961 * '' Mongo Introduces La Lupe'' 1963 * '' Tito Puente Swings, The Exciting Lupe Sings'' 1965 (with

) * ''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 Yi Yi Yi'' 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 – with Curet Alonso'' 1974 * ''One of a kind'' 1977 * ''La pareja'' 1978 (with Tito Puente) * ''En algo nuevo'' 1980 * ''La samaritana'' 1986 * '' La Lupe en Cristo'' 1989

Compilations

This section is not complete. * ''Lo mejor de la Lupe'' Compilation, 1974 * ''Apasionada'' Compilation, 1978 * ''La Lupe: too much'' 1989. Compilation from ''Tico'' recordings only, by ''Charly Records'' LP HOT 123 * ''Dance with the Queen'' 2008 * ''La Lupe greatest hits'' 2008

Hit singles

Short list of her best-known songs, taken from Giro Radamés' ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba'' and compilation albums: * "Con el diablo en el cuerpo" * " Fiebre" * "Crazy heart" * "Qué te pedí?" * "La tirana" ico SLP 1167* "Puro teatro" ico SLP 1192* "Adiós" * "Carcajada final" ico SLP 1176* "A Beny Moré" ico CLP 1310

Film & theatre

* ''La gran tirana'' by Carlos Padrón-Cuba. 2011 Havanna, 2012: Havanna at Humboldt Haus, Ulm at theater in der westentasche, Theater Tage in Karlsruhe, Kubanische Botschaft in Berlin. Starring: Nancy Calero-Germany. * ''La Lupe: my life, my destiny'': theatrical production by Carmen Rivera (2001) * ''La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul'' film by Ela Troyano (2003; 2007) * ''La Reina, La Lupe'' by Rafael Albertori (2003)

In popular culture

*Pedro Almodóvar's ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' ends with La Lupe's "Puro Teatro". * Her recording of ''La Virgen Lloraba'' was used in the 1996 film ''

The Birdcage ''The Birdcage'' is a 1996 American comedy film produced and directed by Mike Nichols. Elaine May's screenplay adapted the 1978 French film ''La Cage aux Folles (film), La Cage aux Folles'', itself an adaptation of a La Cage aux Folles (play), 1 ...

''. * In 2002, New York City renamed East 140th Street in The Bronx as ''La Lupe Way'' in her memory. * Cuban-American writer

Daína Chaviano Daína Chaviano () (born 19 February 1957, Havana)Profile
''Encyclopæd ...

pays homage to La Lupe in the novel ''

The Island of Eternal Love ''The Island of Eternal Love'' is a 2006 novel by Cuban author Daína Chaviano. The plot is a family saga that takes place along two parallel lines: one during our time and another that begins in the 1850s. The modern story revolves around th ...

'' (Riverhead-Penguin, 2008), where the singer appears in a cameo singing ''Puro Teatro''. * On the TV series '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'', Puerto Rican drag queen Nina Flowers chose to impersonate La Lupe. * Her recording of "Fever" was included in the episode "Angels of Death," from season two of the

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

series '' Magic City''. * A poem by

Víctor Hernández Cruz Víctor is a Spanish masculine given name, equivalent to Victor in English and Vítor in Portuguese. Notable people with the given name include: * Víctor Barrio (1987–2016), Spanish bullfighter * Víctor Cabrera (Argentine footballer) * Víct ...

was written about her: "La Lupe". * In 1991, comedian Sandra Bernhard released a track called "La Lupe" on her album ''Excuses for Bad Behavior, Part #1'', spoken in Spanish and English, in which Bernhard briefly speaks of the dissolution of the La Lupe/Tito Puente relationship. * In 2015, an analogous and fictionalized version of La Lupe (renamed Lola Calvo for the series), was heavily featured in an 80 episode Spanish-language biographical television series of

called '' Celia'', on the

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

network. * In 2017, the first episode of TNT's ''

Claws A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tars ...

'' is titled "Tirana" and in it the main characters lip-sync and dance to one of La Lupe's signature songs. *In 2002, her song "Que te Pedí" was featured in the film ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

''. *La Lupe's signature song, "Que te Pedí", was featured in the 2006 film, ''El Cantante'', starring Marc Anthony as Hector Lavoe. *In 2020, Colombian singer

Kali Uchis Karly Marina Loaiza (born July 17, 1994), known professionally as Kali Uchis ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Her accolades include a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award, an American Music Awards, American Music Award, two Billboard Music Awar ...

added a cover of "Que te pedi" in her album ''Sin Miedo'' (''Del amor y otros demonios'')

References

External links

''La Lupe, Queen of Latin Soul''
site for

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrenc ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

* *
Performances of Pleasure and Pain: Dr Vanessa Knights (pdf)

Unofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Lupe 1936 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American women singers 20th-century evangelicals American entertainers of Cuban descent American evangelicals American soul singers American women singer-songwriters Bolero singers Burials at Saint Raymond's Cemetery (Bronx) Converts to Protestantism Cuban women singers Cuban women songwriters Fania Records artists Former Santeríans Guaracha singers Musicians from the Bronx Musicians from Santiago de Cuba RCA Victor artists Riverside Records artists Salsa musicians Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Women in Latin music