Making La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul - Part 1
The following entry is posted on behalf of Ela Troyano, the producer of La Lupe, Queen of Latin Soul. The film can be seen on Tuesday, June 5 at 10pm on WPBT, Channel 2 in Miami, as part of the series Independent Lens. You can see two short interviews with Ms. Troyano at uVu.channel2.org (pt.1/ pt.2) excerpts from a full program, Viva Voz, which can be seen on Vme (digital channel 2.3)
Making La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul
Her name is Lupe Yoli Raymond aka La Lupe or La Yiyiyi. There’s a
common mistake still making the rounds on the internet that she was
named Guadalupe. Though she did love wearing her large Virgen de
Guadalupe medal – bling before its time.
I saw her by chance in 1987 --- there was a poster on the street. I
knew she was famous but had no idea what she was doing here in the
Lower East Side. But I went to the address, a Church packed with
families. She was at the altar with light streaming behind her. I’m
not sure if this is all true or just the way I remember her. She
insisted that she did not like video recordings, they made her nervous
and asked us not to videotape; I had an audiotape recorder and decided
it was ok. I went up to her during the blessing making sure the red
light was blinking, hidden in my jacket. It was a portentous moment; I
was carried away with her presence, had only one cassette and kept
turning it over convinced what she was saying now was even more
important than what she had said moments earlier. It was a
spellbinding performance. Afterwards there were questions – was she
hustling us? There was a kind of purity about her, a sadness. For
years I’d come back to her music. Yo Soy Tu Esclava was the first song
of hers I fell for; it spoke for me completely, the enslavement of a
love gone wrong.
At Maria Irene Forne’s playwriting workshops at INTAR she would often
bring up her own idol Olga Guillot pretending to go into rapture over
her songs. Maria Irene the intellectual felled by romantic love
songs. At Sundance’s first screenwriting workshop with Gabriel Garcia
Marquez he asked what I was listening to – Celia Cruz. I had read
somewhere that he wanted to be a bolero writer. At the workshop he
mentioned listening to itinerant musicians as a child, learning stories
from them. He loved to take my cassette recorder to listen to Celia.
Our common roots.
By the time I decided to embark on a film on La Lupe I was sure it would take time though lying to myself – only one year.
Please ask me questions – what do you want to hear about? There's so much still to tell about her
NOTE: The film has been rescheduled for Broadcast on WPBT/Channel 2 in Miami on September 20 at 10pm.
Since I saw the screening, I kept wondering about her life. She is hypnotic. I think that once you see her or hear from her, you cannot take that picture away fro your mind!
I would like to know why Tito Puente was not interviewed during the movie and why her children did not speak about her?
Also, do you know what she thought of Celia Cruz?
And why did she turn away from santaria and followed another religion?
Posted by: J. | June 04, 2007 at 02:36 PM
I saw the film at the Miami Film Festival and wondered why I had never heard of her. I know most of her contemporaries. Is it me or is this often the case? Why do you think someone so interesting and talented was so unheralded for the most part?
Posted by: Paul | June 04, 2007 at 04:46 PM
About La Lupe being unheralded --
From 1964 through roughly 1975 she was one of the most visible Latin stars. Izzy Sanabria discusses this in the doc, she had a level of celebrity that "no other latin star had at the time". English language talk show hosts loved her. She got cast on Broadway. Hector Maisonave her booking agent claims she could play for free at a park in the morning and then sell out that night.
But while Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Johnny Pacheco, Celia Cruz all continued to perform through the 80's La Lupe did not. As she dropped out of the music scene salsa became renowned world wide.
Posted by: Ela | June 05, 2007 at 08:22 AM
when does this air and please send me acopy of it thanks you can contact me at tpuentejr@aol.com
Posted by: tito puente jr | June 05, 2007 at 10:47 PM
LA LUPE (en mayuscula) fué maravillosa. Su alma de Latin Queen nos seguirá por siempre. Una pregunta....Siempre se habla de LA LUPE y santería....Que santo tenía hecho LA LUPE?....Como puedo comprar el CD o el VCR de LA LUPE que se pasó por el canal 2 de Miami en Junio 5 a las 10:00PM?...Saludos y un abrazo a todos mis hermanos/hermanas admiradores de LA LUPE
Posted by: Ramoncito | June 06, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Ochun -- aunque hay diferentes versiones de los Santos -- una anecdota entre Mongo Santamaria y Tito Puente donde ellos insistian en dos Santos distintos.
La Lupe often performed in yellow and gold, the colors of Ochun, even in the rare videos in her Church testimonials near the end of her life.
Posted by: Ela | June 06, 2007 at 02:05 PM
Finally a dcumentary on the Queen Of Latin Soul. Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this project. I'm sure you had a hard time getting the rights to the music & TV clips.
La lupe had a cameo roll in a movie in 1969. I was wondering why this was not mentioned in the documentary.
Once again, thank you so much for all the hard work you put into this wonderful docu.
GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Frankie Ruiz | June 13, 2007 at 10:36 AM
I love this blog -- Frankie, can you tell me more about her cameo? I searched for an Italian film forever, but perhaps this is another one. Please let me know!!!!!!!
Posted by: Ela | June 13, 2007 at 11:39 PM
Hi Ela!
Thanks for answering back!
The movie is called Historia de Un Gangster from 1969. She performs one of her songs with a band. She looks great. If you go to youtube.com you can see the clip.
I hope you can include this on the DVD. Take care Ela.
P.S. On her album "Two Sides Of La Lupe" There's a song called "El Emigrante". It would have been perfect for the documentary.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
Posted by: Frankie Ruiz | June 24, 2007 at 09:51 PM
GOD GAVE US THE HONOR TO HAVE HER IN OUR HOUSE TO EAT AND DRINK COFFEE, GREAT EXPLOSIVE CHRISTIAN WITH NO HOLD BACKS. SHE STATES I NEVER TOOK DRUGS OR WAS A DRUNK, I JUST WAS FULL OF DEMONS THAT TOOK OVER. ONCE I BECAME A CHRISTIAN ALL MY ALLEGED FRIENDS INCLUDING TITO LEFT ME AND NEVER HELPED IN MY TIMES OF NEED, IT'S OK GOD KNOWS.
Posted by: cookie | September 04, 2007 at 08:23 AM
Thank you Ela Troyano for making a documentry on La Lupe. I am 15 years old and I love her music. The documentry is finally airing in New York on pbs. I cant wait to see it. My mother was telling me she met La Lupe when she was a little girl in a santo partys and my grandmother has danced for La Lupe in another santos party when La Lupe lived in jersey by the water. I wish i could have met her.
I cant wait to see the documentry i hope it has alot of her songs
Posted by: Jonathan | September 04, 2007 at 10:13 PM
The documentary was just broadcast on NYC this past week on WNET. Am excited about another broadcast in Miami. If you have any questions, just let me know...
Posted by: Ela Troyano | September 20, 2007 at 10:59 AM
I caught the documentary of La Lupe today on Channel 2 WPBS-Miami between the hours of 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. I had heard about her music listening to it on La Clasica 92.3 F.M. in Miami, Florida, whereby radio personality Mr. Adrian Mesa plays it with Cuban pride and joy. At which time I turn the volume up and enjoy the moment as well.
Another story of someone who left a little of herself after death, via musical and visual recordings, but her life and love of the latin music that she sang will live on forever. Thank you, Ela Troyano.
P.S., I would love to see if her life story, such as that of "El Cantante", will be made into a movie. Can you just imagine the casting of the personalities that existed during that time around the life of La Lupe? Magic!!!
Posted by: Juan | September 20, 2007 at 11:57 PM
I am working on the script. I loved working on the documentary and am still involved with La Lupe's story. There were so many images, anecdotes for which there is no archival footage... my original intention was a fiction script but I wanted to do the research and felt that the original footage had to be out in the world. So if you have any ideas please let me know. Thank you channel 2 for the space to talk
Posted by: Ela | September 21, 2007 at 04:54 PM
QUISIERA SABER SI YO PODRE VER ESTE FILM EN LAS VAGAS PUES UN AMIGO LO VIO EN NEW YORK.PERO AQUI EN LA VEGAS NI SIQUIERA EL PLAY VINO AQUI.
lAURA
Posted by: Laura G.deVarela | October 10, 2007 at 06:56 PM
Does anyone know when the DVD will be available? Where do I purchase it? The DVD would be an awesome Christmas present for my dad who was a fan of La Lupe!
Posted by: Emily | October 12, 2007 at 01:36 AM
Las felicitaciones desde Canal Documental a Ela Troyano por su obra.
Posted by: Pablo Guerrero | November 01, 2007 at 07:43 AM
HELLO YIYIYIS,
PLEASE VISIT MY HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO LA LUPE, THE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL! NOW WITH OVER 10,000 FRIENDS AND COUNTING.
CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE ALBUMS, LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, PICTURES AND MUCH MORE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ELA TROYANO AND STAFF FOR KEEPING LA LUPE'S MEMORY ALIVE AND TO SHOW THE REST OF THE WORLD WHO LA LUPE WAS ALL ABOUT. CONGRATULATIONS! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DVD, I HOPE IT CONTAINS SOME MUSICAL FOOTAGE TOO!!
WEB ADDRESSES:
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/LUPEVICTORIAYOLI
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/LAYIYIYI
Posted by: Mario | December 13, 2007 at 01:51 AM