Linda Bell Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop.
La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album for the Intensamente La India Con Canciones De Juan Gabriel album.
Viera was born in Río Piedras, San Juan.
Both her parents moved to New York City soon after her birth, settling in the South Bronx 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, having witnessed domestic violence from her father.
1985
In 1985, when Caballero was 16 years old, she joined the Latin freestyle 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/Warner Bros. Records, who planned to market her as the Latin version of Madonna (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 [her] people."
An important event took place when she accompanied her husband "Little" Louie Vega to a studio session.
Salsa bandleader Eddie Palmieri happened to visit the studio, and was impressed with Caballero when he heard her singing.
1992
In 1992, Palmieri produced Caballero's first Spanish-language salsa album Llego La India via Eddie Palmieri (The India has Arrived via Eddie Palmieri), which was acclaimed as one of the best salsa albums of the year.
From then on, Caballero became known to all as La India.
1993
India received a Lo Nuestro Award nomination in 1993 for Best Female Performer, Tropical/Salsa.
1994
In 1994 La India, together with Louie Vega, recorded the house-music single "Love and Happiness" (Yemaya y Ochún), which paid tribute to Santería (a syncretic religion 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 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.
Later this same year, Combinación Perfecta was released.
1996
In 1996, La India worked with Tito Puente on Jazzin, an English-language 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.
1997
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.
1998
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 and in El Festival de la Calle Ocho in Miami, Florida.
1999
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.
