I recently went to the MoMa to watch La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul; this is a documentary profiling the career of the famous Cuban singer La Lupe. The film takes place in the 1960’s and is primarily in black and white. Since La Lupe primarily sang in Spanish, there are English subtitles in white Helvetica type.
The film was very enjoyable going over the span of Lupe Yoli’s life from domestic abuse, singer, to religious speaker.
The documentary features interviews throughout with people in close relation to La Lupe such as her producer. In these shots the filmmaker chose to use medium close-ups. The use of a medium close up was a strong decision because the shot establishes a location; for example, the producer was set in front of a studio. It allows the audience to connect who the person is to where they are. Sometimes in documentaries people may forget all of the people being introduced. In the film, many pictures are shown as the people are being interviewed. This was a good tactic because the audience will not get bored just watching a person talk for minutes at a time. I loved the use of interview narrations because it allowed audiences to feel closer to Lupe. The movie is an oral history similar to what you find on E!’s Behind the Music.
The film starts with the funeral of La Lupe and backtracks to cover the span of her celebrity. The documentary takes place decades ago but remains present. La Lupe was an innovator and truly ahead of her time.
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