La India | |
|---|---|
 La India performing at the Festival de la Salsa in Nicaragua in 2008. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | India |
| Born | Linda Bell Viera Caballero (1969-03-09)March 9, 1969 (age 56) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | elmundodeindia |
Linda Bell Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), known professionally asLa India, is aPuerto Rican singer and songwriter ofsalsa,house music andLatin pop. La India has been nominated for bothGrammy andLatin Grammy Awards, winning theLatin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album for theIntensamente La India Con Canciones De Juan Gabriel album.[1]
Viera was born inRío Piedras,San Juan. Both her parents moved to New York City soon after her birth, settling in theSouth Bronx area of the city. Initially, they lived with Viera's grandmother, a woman who served as an important influence on Viera's life.[2] Viera began singing as a young girl, even taking opera training for a brief time.[3] Her stage name, La India, was given to her by her grandmother because of her dark features and long, straight, black hair.[4] La India describes herself as afeminist, having witnesseddomestic violence from her father.[5]
In 1985, when Caballero was 16 years old, she joined theLatin freestyle groupTKA, 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.[6]
Caballero signed a record contract withReprise/Warner Bros. Records, who planned to market her as the Latin version ofMadonna (who recorded for sister label Sire Records).[7] India's debut album was titledBreaking 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.[4][6] She decided to switch tosalsa because she believed that she needed to "cross over to[her] people."[3]
An important event took place when she accompanied her husband"Little" Louie Vega to a studio session. Salsa bandleaderEddie Palmieri 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 albumLlego La India via Eddie Palmieri (The India has Arrived viaEddie Palmieri),[3][8] which was acclaimed as one of the best salsa albums of the year. From then on, Caballero became known to all as La India.[6] India received aLo Nuestro Award nomination in 1993 for Best Female Performer, Tropical/Salsa.[9]
In 1994 La India, together with Louie Vega, recorded the house-music single "Love and Happiness" (Yemaya y Ochún), which paid tribute toSantería (a syncreticreligion 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 albumDicen Que Soy, a 2× gold-certifiedBillboard hit that added to her legend in the Latin-American music realm.[3] The album also included her cover of Cuba’s Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son’s hit song "Vivir Lo Nuestro[10]," featuring a duet withMarc Anthony. Later this same year,Combinación Perfecta was released.[4]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 You may listen to La India sing"Seduceme"here. | |
| You may listen to La India sing "Jazzin" with Tito Puentehere |
In 1996, La India worked withTito Puente onJazzin, anEnglish-language album ofswing classics with a Latin twist, onRMM Records. That same year she contributed the song "Banderas" to the album titledVoces Unidas (United Voices), a multi-artist tribute to the 1996 Summer Olympics. She also releasedIndia: Mega Mix that same year before divorcing Vega. La India sang a duet titled "La Voz de la Experiencia" (The Voice of Experience) withCelia Cruz, the late Queen of Salsa.[3] 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 singerKevin Ceballo as backup vocalist. The song was nominated for Best Latin Tropical PerformanceGrammy Award. In 1998, she won an ACE Award.[6]
On May 31, 1998, La India performed two sold-out concerts at theLuis A. Ferre Performing Arts Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She returned to the United States, and television networkUPN 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'sMadison Square Garden and in El Festival de la Calle Ocho inMiami, Florida. In September 1999, La India released her albumSola, which earned positive reviews for the singleSola and for covers of two hits by the late Cuban sensationLa Lupe,Que Te Pedi andSi Vuelves Tu.[4]
On February 5, 2000, a full-page ad inBillboard Magazine congratulated La India for her secondGrammy Award nomination. In March 2000, she was featured inVibe Magazine. On November 26, 2003, La India releasedLatin Songbird: Mi Alma y Corazón.[3] The album's lead single "Sedúceme" became a hit on the Latin charts, and topped the U.S. BillboardHot Latin Tracks 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 twoLatin Grammy nominations for Best Salsa Album and Best Tropical Song in 2003, and her thirdGrammy Award nomination for Best Salsa Album in 2004.[11]
In 2005, La India participated in the musical presentationSelena ¡VIVE!, a tribute to the late Tejano sensationSelena Quintanilla-Perez. In 2006, La India released the albumSoy Diferente, which contained two songs that became award-winning hits. The 2007 Annual LatinBillboard 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 sensationGloria Estefan in a duet titled "90 Millas."[11]
On June 11, 2006, La India was honored byUnion City, New Jersey with a star on the Walk of Fame at Union City'sCelia Cruz Park.[12]
La India released her ninth studio album in 2010. La India mentioned to theAssociated Press, "I am reinventing myself ... changing my physical image. La India will return to become aBarbie. 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 2009Italian version "Stupida" byAlessandra 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 withIssac Delgado titled "Que No Se Te Olvide." In 2011, La India released a new house track titled "Tacalacateo," on which she worked with Italian DJPeppe Citarella. "Tacalacateo" peaked at #13 onBillboard's dance music chart.
In 2012, La India performed as part ofUNITY : The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson, along with other Latin artists such as Tito Nieves and Kevin Ceballo.[13]
In 2014, La India once again signed with the record labelTop Stop Music, also joining the Salsa Giants project withSergio George. La India released her tenth studio salsa album "Intensamente Con Canciones deJuan Gabriel" onTop 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.[14]
In 2023,Rolling Stone ranked La India at number 113 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[15]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [16] | US Tropical[citation needed] | US Latin[citation needed] | Heatseekers[16] | |||
| 1990 | Breaking Night | — | — | — | — | |
| 1992 | Llego La India, ViaEddie Palmieri
| — | 5 | — | — | |
| 1994 | Dicen Que Soy
| — | 1 | 4 | — | |
| 1997 | Sobre el Fuego
| — | 1 | 4 | 33 | |
| 1999 | Sola
| — | 4 | 7 | 20 | |
| 2002 | Latin Songbird: Mi Alma y Corazón
| — | 1 | 7 | 19 | |
| 2006 | Soy Diferente
| — | 1 | 11 | 9 |
|
| 2010 | Unica
| 180 | 1 | 4 | — | |
| 2015 | Intensamente Con Canciones de Juan Gabriel
| — | 1 | 3 | — | |
| "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released in the region. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Tropical[citation needed] | US Latin[citation needed]Billboard Top Latin Albums | ||
| 1996 | Lo Mejor de India
| — | — |
| 1997 | Mega Mix
| — | — |
| 2001 | The Best...
| — | — |
| 2005 | Grandes Exitos +
| 7 | 11 |
| "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released in the region. | |||
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Love and Happiness (w/ River Ocean)
|
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Intensamente con Canciones de Juan Gabriel | Best Salsa Album | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Intensamente con Canciones de Juan Gabriel | Favorite Album—Tropical | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | La India (herself) | Tropical Female Artist | Nominated |
| 2004 | La India (herself) | Best Salsa Performance | Nominated |
| 2004 | Seduceme | Best Tropical Song | Nominated |
| 2004 | Mi Alma Y Corazon | Best Tropical Album | Nominated |
| 2005 | La India (herself) | Female Artist Of The Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | Soy Diferente | Best Tropical Album | Nominated |
| 2007 | La India (herself) | Female Artist Of The Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | La India & Cheka | Group Or Duo Of The Year | Nominated |
| 2011 | La India (herself) | Female Artist Of The Year | Nominated |
| 2011 | Estupida | Best Tropical Song | Nominated |
| 2016 | La India (herself) | Female Artist Of The Year | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Latin Songbird: Mi Alma Y Corazon | Tropical Album Of The Year | Won |
| 2004 | La India (Herself) | Seduceme (Remix) | Won |
| 2006 | Grandes Exitos | Tropical Album Of The Year | Nominated |
| 2007 | Soy Diferente | Tropical Album Of The Year | Won |
| 2007 | Pura Salsa | Tropical Album Of The Year | Nominated |
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