Linda Bell Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), known professionally as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa,

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

music and

Latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

. La India has been nominated for both

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

s, winning the Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album for the ''Intensamente La India Con Canciones De Juan Gabriel'' album.

Early life

Viera was born in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. Both her parents moved to New York City soon after her birth, settling in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

area of the city. Initially, they lived with Viera's grandmother, a woman who served as an important influence on Viera's life. Viera began singing as a young girl, even taking opera training for a brief time. Her stage name, La India, was given to her by her grandmother because of her dark features and long, straight, black hair. La India describes herself as a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, having witnessed

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

from her father.

Career

1985: Early career

In 1985, when Caballero was 16 years old, she joined the

Latin freestyle Freestyle, or Latin freestyleKlanten, Robert (1995). ''Die Gestalten Verlag: Localizer 1.0''. Die-Gestalten-Verlag. . Quote: "The other unavoidable influence n NYC hard housewas latin freestyle. A blend of hip hop, synth pop and salsa, latin ...

group TKA, a fact not widely known. Credited as "Linda," she appeared in the group photo on the back cover of TKA's second single, " Come Get My Love." She left shortly thereafter. Caballero signed a record contract with

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

/ Warner Bros. Records, who planned to market her as the Latin version of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

(who recorded for sister label Sire Records). India's debut album was titled
Breaking Night
'. Three singles were released (“Dancing on the Fire,” “Right from the Start,” and “The Lover Who Rocks You All Night”), which all became big hits in the dance clubs. She also added her vocals to the Jellybean-produced single "Mirage". After recording the album, Caballero decided that she didn't want to take that route in her career. She decided to switch to salsa because she believed that she needed to "cross over to erpeople."

1992–1994: First salsa album

An important event took place when she accompanied her husband "Little" Louie Vega to a studio session. Salsa bandleader

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

happened to visit the studio, and was impressed with Caballero when he heard her singing. In 1992, Palmieri produced Caballero's first Spanish-language salsa album ''Llego La India via Eddie Palmieri'' (The India has Arrived via

), which was acclaimed as one of the best salsa albums of the year. From then on, Caballero became known to all as La India. India received a Lo Nuestro Award nomination in 1993 for Best Female Performer, Tropical/Salsa. In 1994 La India, together with Louie Vega, recorded the house-music single "Love and Happiness" (Yemaya y Ochún), which paid tribute to

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...

(a syncretic

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

based in the Caribbean). This up-beat track was played heavily in dance clubs internationally. La India's involvement with Santería drew much criticism. Sergio George produced La India's 1994 album ''Dicen Que Soy'', a 2× gold-certified ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' hit that added to her legend in the Latin-American music realm. The album also included her cover of Cuba’s Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son’s hit song "Vivir Lo Nuestro," featuring a duet with

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

. Later this same year, ''Combinación Perfecta'' was released.

1996–present: La India, the Princess of Salsa

In 1996, La India worked with

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

on ''Jazzin'', an

English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

album of swing classics with a Latin twist, on RMM Records. That same year she contributed the song "Banderas" to the album titled '' Voces Unidas'' (United Voices), a multi-artist tribute to the 1996 Summer Olympics. She also released ''India: Mega Mix'' that same year before divorcing Vega. La India sang a duet titled "La Voz de la Experiencia" (The Voice of Experience) with Celia Cruz, the late Queen of Salsa. It was then that Cruz gave Caballero her longer name: La India, the Princess of Salsa. In 1997, La India recorded "Sobre el Fuego" (Over the Fire) with Puerto Rican salsa singer Kevin Ceballo as backup vocalist. The song was nominated for Best Latin Tropical Performance

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

. In 1998, she won an ACE Award. On May 31, 1998, La India performed two sold-out concerts at the Luis A. Ferre Performing Arts Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She returned to the United States, and television network UPN aired one of her shows. With training provided by New York's famed choreographer Sara D'Arce India was also able to perform concerts in New York's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

and in El Festival de la Calle Ocho in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. In September 1999, La India released her album ''Sola'', which earned positive reviews for the single ''Sola'' and for covers of two hits by the late Cuban sensation La Lupe, ''Que Te Pedi'' and ''Si Vuelves Tu''. On February 5, 2000, a full-page ad in

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

congratulated La India for her second

nomination. In March 2000, she was featured in Vibe Magazine. On November 26, 2003, La India released ''Latin Songbird: Mi Alma y Corazón''. The album's lead single "Sedúceme" became a hit on the Latin charts, and topped the U.S. Billboard

Hot Latin Tracks The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, ...

for several weeks. This romantic salsa hit single was La India's first number-one song. ''Latin Songbird'' brought her a new fan base with many awards and nominations, including two

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

nominations for Best Salsa Album and Best Tropical Song in 2003, and her third

nomination for Best Salsa Album in 2004. In 2005, La India participated in the musical presentation '' Selena ¡VIVE!'', a tribute to the late Tejano sensation

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

Quintanilla-Perez. In 2006, La India released the album '' Soy Diferente'', which contained two songs that became award-winning hits. The 2007 Annual Latin ''

'' Awards honored La India with Best Tropical Album of the Year Female for "Soy Diferente" (I Am Different), and Latin Dance Club Play Track of the Year for "Solamente Una Noche" (Just for One Night). In 2007, La India collaborated with Latin sensation

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

in a duet titled " 90 Millas." On June 11, 2006, La India was honored by

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

with a star on the Walk of Fame at Union City's Celia Cruz Park.Rosero, Jessica
"Viva la comunidad Cubano North Hudson celebrates at the annual Cuban Day Parade"
'' Hudson Reporter'' June 18, 2006 La India released her ninth studio album in 2010. La India mentioned to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, "I am reinventing myself ... changing my physical image. La India will return to become a

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

. But more than that, I feel like a new woman because I have been blessed with many beautiful things. After many years, I have my family with me, and I am not separated from my mother, in which I suffered greatly. I have her in my life, and that brings inner peace that I haven't had in a long time." On February 23, 2010, La India's hit single "Estupida" was released on iTunes. The single was a cover of the 2009

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

version "Stupida" by Alessandra Amoroso. La India's ninth studio album, '' Unica'', was released June 1, 2010. In 2011, La India continued to release new music. She performed a duet with Issac Delgado titled "Que No Se Te Olvide." In 2011, La India released a new house track titled "Tacalacateo," on which she worked with Italian DJ Peppe Citarella. "Tacalacateo" peaked at #13 on ''Billboard'''s dance music chart. In 2012, La India performed as part of UNITY : The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson, along with other Latin artists such as Tito Nieves and Kevin Ceballo. In 2014, La India once again signed with the record label Top Stop Music, also joining the Salsa Giants project with Sergio George. La India released her tenth studio salsa album "Intensamente Con Canciones de

Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...

" on Top Stop Music in 2015. It includes duets and solo pieces by both artists. This album was number one on Billboard's tropical chart for a consecutive four weeks. One song in particular, ''"Ahora Que Te Vas"'' quickly rose to number one on Billboard's tropical chart. With this song, La India became the Latino woman with the most-ever number ones, a record previously held by Gloria Estefan. In 2023, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked La India at number 113 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

EPs

Contributions on other recordings

* 1988 - Mirage *By Jellybean & Little Louie Vega (Featured on the "B" side of the 12" Single of 'Just A Mirage') *With Tony Humphries ** Keith Thompson – Rhythm of Life *With Masters at Work ** 1992 – Ride On The Rhythm by Louie Vega & Marc Anthony (wrote/background vocals) ** 1993 – When You Touch Me and I Can't Get No Sleep (from ''The Album'') ** 1994 – Voices In My Mind by Voices (India, Carol Sylvan, Michael Watford) ** 1994 – Vibe P.M. (Masters at Work Remix) (featured with Mondo Grosso) ** 1998 – To Be In Love (MAW Remix) (from MAW Records: ''The Collection Volume I'') ** 1996 – Runaway (from ''Nuyorican Soul'') ** 2002 – Backfired (from ''Our Time Is Coming'') *RMM Combinacion Perfecta ** 1994 – Vivir Lo Nuestro (duet with

) * Li'l Mo Ying Yang ** 1995 Reach (samples "Love & Happiness") *Voces Unidas: The Atlanta Olympics ** 1996 – Banderas * JohNick – Play The World EP ** 1996 – Play The World (samples "Love & Happiness") *With Oscar D'León ** 1997 – Hazme El Amor (from ''En Nueva York'') * Puff Daddy & the Family – No Way Out ** 1997 – Senorita (samples India's "No Me Conviene") *'' The Last Days of Disco'' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ** 1998 – I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round) *''The 24-Hour Woman'' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ** 1999 – India Con La Voe (Viva Puerto Rico) *Haus-A-Holics – Latin Spice EP ** 2001 – Que Pasa by Haus-A-Holics (samples "Oye Como Va" with Tito Puente Jr.) *''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ** 2003 – Empire, Imperio *With

Tito Nieves Humberto "Tito" Nieves (born June 4, 1958; also known as "El Luciano Pavarotti, Pavarotti de la Salsa") is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading Salsa music, salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Early life Humberto "Ti ...

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as " X", " Travesuras", " El Perdón", " Hasta el Amanecer", and " El Amante"; the latter three are from his 20 ...

, and K-Mil ** 2004 – Ya No Queda Nada *With

Ivy Queen Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Queen of Reggae ...

** 2004 – "Tócame" (from '' Real'') *Tribute to

** 2005 – No Debes Jugar (from '' Selena ¡VIVE!'') *With Marlon Fernández ** 2006 – Usted Abusó (from ''Mi Sueño'') *With R.K.M & Ken-Y, Polaco,

, and Carlitos Way ** 2006 – Tocarte Toda *With

** 2007–90 Millas (from '' 90 Millas'') *With Michael Stuart ** 2007 – Un Amor Tan Grande (from ''Sentimiento De Un Rumbero'') *With Yolandita Monge ** 2008 – Mala (Tropical Remix) (from " Mala") *With

Tito "El Bambino" Efraín David Fines Nevares (born October 5, 1981), known professionally as Tito El Bambino, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who rose to fame as part of the duo Héctor & Tito. In 2010, his song "El Amor (Tito El Bambino song), El Amor" ...

** 2009 – El Amor (Salsa Remix) (from " El Patron") *' 2010 – "Un Verano En Nueva York" (from Banco Popular De PR – Salsa, Un Homenaje A El Gran Combo Album) *With Issac Delgado ** 2011 – Maxi single "Que No Se Te Olvide" *With Peppe Citarella ** 2011 – Maxi single "Tacalacateo" *With Tito Rojas ** 2011 – "Maldito y Bendito Amor" (Salsa version) ** 2011 – "Maldito y Bendito Amor" (Ballad version) *' 2013 – "Tu no tienes alma" (from the "Y Si Fueran Ellas" albuml) *With Sergio George's Salsa Giants ** 2014 – "Bajo La Tormenta" (from Sergio George Presents: Salsa Giants Plus) *With Tony Succar – Unity the Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson ** 2015 – "Earth song" *With Tony Succar - Mimy Y Tony ** 2023 - "Sin Fronteras"

Awards and nominations

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

, - , 2016 , ''Intensamente con Canciones de Juan Gabriel'' , Best Salsa Album , , -

Latin American Music Awards of 2016 The 2nd Annual Latin American Music Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. It was broadcast live on Telemundo. Lucero was announced as the host on August 31. Banda MS and Yandel led the nominations with six each. Perfo ...

, - , 2016 , ''Intensamente con Canciones de Juan Gabriel'' , Favorite Album—Tropical , , -

Lo Nuestro Awards The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music (genre), Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in ...

, - , 2004 , La India (herself) , Tropical Female Artist , , - , 2004 , La India (herself) , Best Salsa Performance , , - , 2004 , Seduceme , Best Tropical Song , , - , 2004 , Mi Alma Y Corazon , Best Tropical Album , , - , 2005 , La India (herself) , Female Artist Of The Year , , - , 2007 , Soy Diferente , Best Tropical Album , , - , 2007 , La India (herself) , Female Artist Of The Year , , - , 2007 , La India & Cheka , Group Or Duo Of The Year , , - , 2011 , La India (herself) , Female Artist Of The Year , , - , 2011 , Estupida , Best Tropical Song , , - , 2016 , La India (herself) , Female Artist Of The Year , , -

''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards

, - , 2003 , Latin Songbird: Mi Alma Y Corazon , Tropical Album Of The Year , , - , 2004 , La India (Herself) , Seduceme (Remix) , , - , 2006 , Grandes Exitos , Tropical Album Of The Year , , - , 2007 , Soy Diferente , Tropical Album Of The Year , , - , 2007 , Pura Salsa , Tropical Album Of The Year , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:India, La 1969 births Living people Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico American freestyle musicians 20th-century Puerto Rican women singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers Reprise Records artists RMM Records artists Salsa musicians People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Sony Discos artists Universal Music Latino artists Top Stop Music artists Latin Grammy Award winners 21st-century Puerto Rican women singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers Women in Latin music Puerto Rican feminists Feminist musicians

Early life

Career

1985: Early career

1992–1994: First salsa album

1996–present: La India, the Princess of Salsa

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

EPs

Contributions on other recordings

Awards and nominations

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from any ...

Latin American Music Awards of 2016 The 2nd Annual Latin American Music Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. It was broadcast live on Telemundo. Lucero was announced as the host on August 31. Banda MS and Yandel led the nominations with six each. Perfo ...

Lo Nuestro Awards The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music (genre), Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in ...

''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards

See also

References

External links