La Lupe

Wednesday night was my first dress rehearsal with the Burlesqueteers troupe. It at one of the dancer's house near Union Square. I was at first pretty intimidated because many of them have been performing for quite some time and they are all good friends - but everyone was really welcoming and helpful. Minnie defineately feels different in costume and not in front of a mirror. I still have to work out what dress I am going to wear.

Many of the girls are performing solo acts in addition to the group numbers. I was truly amazed at how clever they are at inventing their own dances. I am itching to get started on my own but I think I will need to take a few more classes to build up my moves arsenal.

I think my first solo will have to be a tribute of sorts to the Cuban performer La Lupe. La Lupe is a subject commonly reserved for drag queens but I think I can pull it off (am I crazy or did we see a La Lupe @ Checua for Leah's birthday/my chau chau mustachio basio? Ercilia? Anyone?!) There are quite a few nice videos of her, but none quite capture her at her wildest. Below is a pretty decent clip - from the mid-70s I would guess - before she left Santaria and became a born-again evangelical.




I also like this older video of her. I think the vocals are better.



I think I will end up using her song Puro Teatro, which many may recognize for its appearance in Almodovar's 1998 Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios. Stay tuned!