La Lupe Queen of Latin Soul

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(San Francisco, CA)—LA LUPE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL tells the fascinating and ultimately tragic story of the Cuban bombshell known as La Lupe, once the reigning Queen of Latin Music, whose wild, unabashedly sensual singing style made her a sensation, first in Cuba and then New York. But unlike her sometime rival, Celia Cruz, whose death was commemorated with a mobbed Fifth Avenue processional, La Lupe died broke and forgotten in the Bronx. A must-see for every Latin music fan, Ela Troyano’s LA LUPE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL will have its television premiere on the Emmy® Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens, hosted by Terrence Howard, on Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at 10:pm (check local listings). 

From a poor town in Cuba to the stage of Carnegie Hall, Lupe “La Lupe” Yoli transformed Latin music. Told through interviews with such contemporaries as Mongo Santamaria (who introduced La Lupe to New York audiences, only to have his star stolen by rival bandleader Tito Puente), Johnny Pacheco, and many others, as well as vintage footage of the outrageous La Lupe charming TV hosts David Frost and Dick Cavett, LA LUPE evokes the heady heyday of the mambo era, from the casinos of pre-revolutionary Havana to the famed nightspots of Manhattan. From her tumultuous love life to her involvement with Santeria, to her fiery, love/hate relationship with her many collaborators, LA LUPE is vibrant portrait of an unforgettable artist who dared to perform and live her life on her own terms. The LA LUPE companion website (www.pbs.org/independentlens/lalupe) features detailed information on the film, including an interview with the filmmaker and links and resources pertaining to the film’s subject matter. The site also features a Talkback section for viewers to share their ideas and opinions, preview clips of the film and more. LA LUPE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL is a co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting. 

About The Filmmaker 
Ela Troyano is a Cuban-born director writer and producer. Her films include her feature debut Latin Boys Go To Hell (Strand Releasing, 1998) and the award-winning Carmelita Tropicana (First Run Features, 1994). Troyano also directed the dramatic action television series Reyes y Rey and the sitcom Angeles for Telemundo/Sony (1998-99). Troyano directed the critically acclaimed A to B by Ricardo Bracho Off-Broadway at INTAR (2002) and will collaborate with Carmelita Tropicana on Bring It On You Tube to be presented at INTAR in December 2007. Her video installations in collaboration with the Tiffany Mills Company, Godard and Landfall with composers John Zorn and Ikue Mori, will premiere at Joyce Soho in June 2007. 

About Independent Lens 
Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10pm on PBS. Hosted this season by Terrence Howard, the acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Independent Lens features unforgettable stories about a unique individual, community or moment in history. Presented by ITVS, the series is supported by interactive companion websites and national publicity and community engagement campaigns. Further information about the series is available at www.pbs.org/independentlens. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS, and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts. The series producer is Lois Vossen. 

CONTACT:
Mary Lugo, 770-623-8190, lugo@negia.net
Cara White, 843-881-1480, cara.white@mac.com
Voleine Amilcar, ITVS, 415-356-8383 x244, voleine_amilcar@itvs.org