Early life and first recordings (left) and
Benny Moré (right), . All three were signed to the
RCA Victor subsidiary
Discuba. La Lupe was born in the barrio of San Pedrito in
Santiago de Cuba. Her father was a worker at the local
Bacardí distillery 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's, called "Miénteme" (Lie to Me), and won the competition. The family moved to
Havana in 1955, where she was enrolled at the
University of Havana to become a teacher. She admired
Celia Cruz and like her, she graduated from teaching instruction before starting her professional singing career. 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 in
Havana,
La Red (The Net), which had a clientele of distinguished foreigners. She acquired a devoted following, which included
Ernest Hemingway,
Tennessee Williams,
Jean-Paul Sartre,
Simone de Beauvoir and
Marlon Brando. She recorded her first album,
Con el diablo en el cuerpo, in 1960 for
Discuba, the Cuban subsidiary of
RCA Victor. 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.
Exile and success In 1962 she was
exiled to
México. She approached
Celia Cruz and asked for her support to get work, and in turn, Celia recommended her to
Mongo Santamaría in New York. In New York City, Lupe performed at a
cabaret 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. She ended some of her on-stage engagements being treated with an oxygen mask. La Lupe retired in 1980, and found herself destitute by the early 1980s. An electrical fire made her homeless. After being healed at an
evangelical Christian crusade, La Lupe abandoned her Santería roots and became a
born-again Christian. La Lupe died of a
heart attack in 1992, age 55, and is buried in
Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. ==Discography==