Ana Lupez

Ana Lupez Astargo Chaparro (born March 28, 1944, in Guaymallén, Mendoza Province, Argentina), sometimes referred to as Ana Lupe, is an Argentine actress, dancer, vedette, choreographer, and entrepreneur. She was one of the first Argentine trans women to undergo gender-affirming surgery, which she has described as the "greatest triumph" of her life: "to become a woman".

Biography

Early life Ana Lupez was born in Guaymallén, Mendoza Province, on March 28, 1944. Assigned male at birth, she recalls experiencing distress as early as age seven when forced to wear boys' clothes. This marked the beginning of her journey to live openly as a woman.

Initially an only child, her mother later remarried and had seven more children. Her early expressions of femininity were misunderstood as illness by prevailing medical and moral standards. She worked in a circus and performed at harvest festivals.

She debuted at the Gay Club in Madrid, a pioneering venue in the Spanish LGBT+ movement.

Barcelona de Noche In 1981, she was hired by Pierrot to perform at Barcelona de Noche, a famed gay cabaret known as the "Gay Cathedral". There, she starred in "Locas de amorrr", and later became its headliner and owner.

In 1983, she starred in E.L.L.A.S, and in 1984 in Escándalo Gay in Madrid.

After 1990 In the 1990s, Lupez moved to the Canary Islands, where she ran the Paradise nightclub in Maspalomas, owned two restaurants, and a custom shoe store. In 2019, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at Miss Transformarte 2019 in Alicante.

Now retired, she lives in Benidorm, Valencian Community.