Diva Meets Drama

Hindsight can be kind to pioneers in the arts, overlooking the scandal and outrage that accompany bold defiance of social mores. The life story of "The Queen of Latin Soul," Victoria Guadalupe Yoli — known affectionately as "La Lupe" among fans — is one such narrative of daring amid moral and political backlash. La Lupe's scantily clad, sexually charged appearances earned her popular acclaim among audiences beginning in the late 1950s, but despite strong album sales, the press assailed her and Castro kicked her out of Cuba. Eventually, she moved to New York, where she teamed up with Tito Puente and recorded multiple salsa classics until her death in 1992. Actress Lauren Vélez brings the beloved Cuban diva to life for one evening only in La Lupe: A One Woman Show. Vélez (who plays Lt. Maria LaGuerta on Showtime's Dexter) will star in this one-woman play written by James Manos Jr., an Emmy-winning writer for the hit series The Sopranos.
Wed., April 15, 7:30 p.m., 2009