Natalia Lugo
A singer-songwriter, writer, actress, comedian, and painter, Natalia Lugo was born in New Hampshire. She was raised in Puerto Rico as both of her parents are from there. Lugos mother passed away from Leukemia when she was six and even though music would never replace her absence, music became Natalias shelter. Lugo developed an interest in music at a very young age. Her father is a musician and she would watch him play guitar and sing. It wasnt long until she began to join him in family activities. He surprised her with her first guitar for her birthday and it became her loyal companion from the age of 13. With this guitar, she wrote her first songs. Her debut as a musician was in a local band, where she had the opportunity to perform around her town. In school, Natalia took musical theory, cello, singing, and acting classes. She studied music at La Escuela Libre de Música y Bellas Artes in Ponce, PR and participated in various plays, short films, movies, and improv. When she graduated high school, she enrolled in Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto de Rio Piedras for Communications Studies focused on Audiovisuals for Film and TV. Her experiences in life, love, and faith gave her the drive to pursue her dreams in the artistic realm. She decided to follow a career doing what she loved most, music. At age 19, she began working for local restaurants as a waitress and bartender to be able to cover the cost of her first album. She uploaded a viral video in March 2013 that helped her get noticed in Puerto Rico. She began exploring the comedy side that led her to gain a following of over 200k in all her social media platforms. This opened doors for Lugo in traditional media, participating on local TV shows, radio, movies, theatre, concerts and more. Fuera del Marco (Out of Frame) is her first album. Available now on all music platforms.
Q: Where are you from and where do you currently reside? A: I am from a beautiful island named Puerto Rico (Rich Port), I have lived here most of my life. I was raised in the south area of Puerto Rico, in a small town named Guayama. I currently live in a fast-paced city on the oceanfront north in Puerto Rico’s capitol San Juan. I’m so blessed to live in the Condado district, I live a few steps from the ocean and there is something about walking to the beach every morning that sits well within my soul. It must be that my father raised me on the ocean, being able to soak my feet in the sand every morning to walk my dog is such a blessing. So grateful. Q: What musical influences did you have while you were growing up? A: My father loves music so much; I would say that my biggest influences came from his exquisite and diverse taste in music. He would listen to Frank Sinatra, José Feliciano, Luis Miguel, Andrea Bocelli, Journey, Queen, boleros and more all day. He played his music LOUD. Later in life, thanks to MTV and the internet, I slowly began to discover artist on my own. Amazing artists like The Beatles, Sara Bareilles, John Mayer, Shakira, Taylor Swift, Nat King Cole, Bruno Mars, Keith Urban, Brandon Flowers, Jason Mraz, Bob Marley and more. I was also raised in a local small church that had a worship group and it was in church that I had my first opportunity to sing in public for the first time. I would say that I love music so much that in that love I keep expanding my influences every day listening and discovering new styles. This is why my music varies in genre, I feel like I would get bored if I had to sing one style of music my whole life. The key for me has been being true to my voice and free in my vision of how I want to tell the story. Q: Was there a moment in time when you decided “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”? What inspired you to start playing music? A: Yes, I have that moment engraved in my mind like a mayor life event. My mother had passed from Leukemia cancer when I was a six-year-old, this made most my childhood seem off and isolated from the rest. I remember listening to different artists on my CD Walkman and feeling comfort in their songs, through music I could feel a connection. One day I decided I wanted to write a song, I had written poetry before but never a song. I was thirteen when I put my words into paper in melody for the first time. “Este momento cambió mi vida para siempre”. This moment changed my life forever. I felt a rush like never before, a genuine joy that came from inside. I felt in every cell of my body that this was what I was meant to be, this was my identity. This made everything make sense again. I’m inspired by being able to share and connect with others through music. Sharing my story and having them come along the journey towards my dreams is my sole purpose, the lyrics to that first song was the calling from above. It said in Spanish, my first language: “me has llamado a conquistar multitudes como estrellas, necesito fuerzas para llagar a la meta” which translated to English means “you have called me to conquer multitudes like stars, I need the strength to reach the goal”. Q: Describe your life in six words: A: 1. Loving 2. Honest 3. Willing 4. Dreamer 5. & Grateful 6. Soul Q: What makes your social media following tick? Pick your favorite social media platform. A: I like using humor and music to relate with others, this makes what makes it tick most. I do a lot of live videos talking to my audience, so I would say that my current favorite social media platform is Instagram. Q: What role does music play in your life and what helps spark your creativity? A: Music is the language of my emotions; I get pretty creative whenever something major happens in my core. Q: Which Luna models do you play now and why did you choose these models? A: I own a Luna High Tide Koa Concert Ukulele (Uke HTC KOA), I visited a mayor acoustic store when I lived in Florida for two years after Hurricane Maria and immediately fell in love with the sound. The sound came first, then the beautiful aesthetic captivated me when I noticed the attention to detail in the design and it wasn’t long after this changed the game for me as far as quality in my performances. Q:Tell us a little about why you like Luna. A: I like what Luna represents, Luna means moon in my language and once I read “Let your light shine!” inside my ukulele’s sound hole I was convinced that we were a perfect pair. I love the overall vibe, look and quality that Luna offers. Becoming an official Luna artist just blows my mind away, I’m so grateful. Thank you for accepting me in your family, thank you for having faith in the light I shine. Q: If you could play alongside an artist living or deceased, who would it be and why? A: I would love to play alongside an artist like Bruno Mars, I think it would be amazing to be along someone so creative and outstanding. Q: Which genre of music fits your playing style the most? A: Anything with a mellow vibe. Q: If you could give a gift to the world, what would it be? A: I would give them peace and love. I know this sounds like a pageant queen’s response, but I would truly like give the world this gift to relief the souls that ache. Q: What’s on the horizon for you? A: New music, new views and lots of love for you. Thank you for reading a little about me, I hope to grow old with you. Hasta Viejitos!Luna Artist Interview Questions: Natalia Lugo
