Okay, a little update on my Lupe Vélez book. Way back when this project initially took off, I was approved 150 photos by my publisher. However, that number was based on me coming in at 110,000 words. As I got to researching and writing, my word count ended up coming in at 135,000 words! So, this will affect my page count and when the page count is affected, so is the price of the book. In order to keep the book in a price category that we’ll ALL be happy with, I’ve had to cut my number of photographs by HALF!
That’s right, there’ll now be seventy-five photos instead 😦
That said, the story is the story and it’s a GREAT story. I’ve spent the last few days going over my photo choices with a fine tooth comb and I believe I’ve reinvented my selection to meet the seventy-five photo requirement and still tell her story, photographically speaking, in a thorough way. Oh, it hasn’t been easy. I’m exhausted!
Anyway, as the months progress, I’ll post those pics that didn’t make it – HERE!
Lupe sewing costumes with her mother in their home in Mexico. She’s about 16/17 years old here.
Lupe practices her singing. Her mother, Josefina, plays piano.
Lupe’s dancing drove men wild…here she demonstrates some of her moves!
Michelle Vogel
Michelle Vogel (Author) - michellevogelhollywoodnews.com 
ANY PHOTOGRAPHS FOR SALE,,I COULD BUY?
LUPEEVELEZ@AOL.COM
Not at the moment – half are with the publisher and many of them are digital images. Sorry 😦
LA TIMES 13,2012
YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT LUPE ON THIS LA TIMES SECTION ARE VERY HURTFUL , PARTICULARLY TO ANY LUPE VELEZ ADMIRERS, I FIND IT VERY OFFENSIVE THAT YOU IMPLY THAT LUPE VELEZ HAD A MENTAL ILLNESS, AND THAT SHE MIGHT HAD BEEN BIPOLAR,,U HAVE NO MEDICAL PROOF AND I DON’T EVEN BELIEVE U INTERVIEW HER RELATIVES,, IT IS VERY SAD THAT PEOPLE LIKE U ONLY SEEK TO BENEFIT FROM LUPE’S IMAGE.
Ruben, I approved your comment because I wanted to address your concerns, or accusations, really.
First off, if you were to know Lupe’s life inside out and studied her full time for three years like me, you’d see there were definite signs of bipolar disorder in her personality. Your comments about being offended that I said that is the very reason why mental illness carries the stigma that it does. There is NO shame in it. It’s NOT offensive. It’s a reality that many people live with every day. Thankfully, these days there’s medication that can help people. In Lupe’s day, there was nothing. Believe me, you’re beating up on the wrong person here. If you read my book, maybe you’d see how much I DO respect and admire her, and how much I’ve elevated her spirit above and beyond the many nasty rumours that have circulated for decades. In closing, Lupe’s family are very, very happy with the book and are more than pleased with the way I’ve told her story. I’m not benefiting from Lupe’s image. Before I wrote my book, her lasting “image” was dying with her head in a toilet bowl!
A WHILE AGO I MET THIS GIRL THAT WHEN I MET HER IT MADE ME WEAK TO MY KNEES,,SHE LOOK SO MUCH LIKE LUPE,, I WQS GOING TO DO A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO SHOOT BUT, SHE MET A GUY AND MOVE TO OREGON, :(,, I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF PICS I TOOK WITH MY PHONE.
I read Your excellent book, was such a sad ending for Her. I met a Girl who has a lot of Lupe in Her, only She’s from Peru. Congratulations on a Geeat Book!
Did she know who Lupe Vélez was?
NO, SHE IS WHITE,RED HEAD AND BLUE EYES,,WITH 40 OR 50’S STYLE,,UNBELIEVABLE LUPE’S STYLE! AND I ASKED HER TO GOGGLE LUPE VELEZ,,SHE CAME BACK SAYING THAT HER MOTHER DID FIND THE RESEMBLANCE
OMG!!!! I seriously can’t wait for your book to come out…if these are the pics you left out I just CAN’T imagine the pics that will be included in your book, please let me know about its release =) thanks
Thanks, Renata. We (the publisher and I) had originally agreed on 150 photos but that was with a word count of about 100,000. I ended up going over my word count by 30,000 (the information kept on coming!) so I had to cut my photos by half! It was a tough job. REALLY tough! Despite these photos (above) being fantastic, it all came down to quality. You can see they’re a bit grainy in appearance. Understandably, the publisher is very fussy about the photo quality so these ones were left out for that reason.
As a Mexican fan of Lupe Velez I want to thank you for your work. I’ve always thought that Lupe’s life would be the subject of a great book and a biopic film and it seems that, finally, she is receiving the attention she deserved. This year you have published your book and Mexican filmmaker Carlos Carrera is preparing a film about Lupe (Mexican actress Ana de la Reguera will produce the film and will act as Lupe). I can’t wait for reading your book. Thanks again.
Thank you SO much for your lovely comments. I hope you enjoy my book and would love for you to pop back in again after doing so to give me your thoughts. I’m aware of the film and I’m in contact with Ana about the project. I’ll post more info about that when I can. Of all the books I’ve written, Lupe is my favorite. I hope I’ve ended the myths and brought forward the wonderful, funny, generous, feisty person that she truly was. Thanks again! Take care, Michelle xo
Lupe Velez was my great great grandaunt, it was true she was a spitfire 🙂 but I think that’s a family thing because so is my family, no really talks to me at school because I’m a very serious person (I don’t know why)! Haha but really thanks for writing about someone who was really brave and passionate about performing.
Hello Monica! Thanks for writing, and for your compliments. Lupe was your great, great grandaunt? Wow! I’d be interested in hearing about your connection to her further. E-mail me if you like – mvozus@gmail.com – Take care, Michelle xo
This is addressed to Ruben and any other readers that share his opinion. I am related to Lupe Vélez and, for that reason, I was happy to share with author Michelle Vogel some anecdotes from Lupe’s family, especially as relate to her father Jacobo Villalobos but others as well. I am very happy with the end result, and so is my family. Michelle has simply set the record straight and has dispelled that awful lie about Lupe dying with her head in the toilet. NOTHING is farther from the truth. Why? Two things at least. One, the person who first found her dead, found her lying on her bed as she intended to be found. Second, having taken 80 Nembutal plus alcohol, it would have been medically impossible for her to get up from her bed while she was dying. So much for Kenneth Anger’s sensationalist lies, which were concocted only to sell more of his trashy books. Michelle’s’ book is extremely well researched and this is the very first biography (in English AND in Spanish) that truly tells Lupe’s story exactly as it was, no embellishments but also no sensationalist lies. As for the possibility of Lupe having suffered bipolar, I agree with Michelle. At that time, such diseases were not commonly recognized; much less did they even have a name. And it is absolutely NO embarrassment to suffer from that disease or any other mental disorder, however slight it might have been as I believe was Lupe’s case. In fact, many great persons throughout history suffered from such disorders, which in fact is in part what allowed them to become great and in many cases even change the world for the better or make it at least more fun. In short, Michele’s book is very accurate, balanced and extremely well written. In sum, we are very pleased.
Wikipedia reports 580 seconals
Wikipedia is an online forum that can be updated and changed by anyone. It’s far from accurate. Don’t you think 580 pills would be a little hard to swallow?
Well said.
I read Your excellent book, was such a sad ending for Her. I met a Girl who has a lot of Lupe in Her, only She’s from Peru. Congratulations on a Geeat Book!