© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

La Lupe, Queen Of Latin Soul: The Original Alt.Latina

Courtesy of the artist

A Cuban icon known as the Queen of Latin Soul, La Lupe has been a massively influential figure across Latin culture. We'd give anything to talk to her today, but she's long-gone; La Lupe died in 1992. So we turned to her biographer.

Juan A. Moreno-Velázquez has written extensively about the great performer, and his book Demystifying a Diva: The Truth Behind the Myth of La Lupe is finally available in English. The book is fascinating, covering music, the industry and an important piece in the puzzle depicting Latino life in America.

He also co-authored the script for an upcoming film about the Cuban legend, tentatively titled I Am Lupe and starring Lauren Vélez in the title role. The film is set for release in 2014.

As far as I'm concerned, La Lupe was one of the original Alt.Latinas. She was the epitome of cool: controversial, tantalizing, a true rebel and a rule-breaker. Growing up in Cuba, when her stepmother told her that a black Latina could never make it as a famous singer, she powered forward. When she was told she was too sexual, she laughed and kept going. She was a force of nature.

La Lupe was also an immensely tragic figure who, like many stars of her caliber, fell into the company of people who took advantage of her fame and money. Toward the end of her life, the Queen of Latin Soul struggled with mental-health issues, was briefly homeless and died with none of the glamour and money she'd earned over the years.

Join us for a musically rich conversation about the life and legend of La Lupe, the original bad girl of Latin music.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's Criminal Justice correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.