Spotlight: Lucian Vega
"My real name is Lucy Ann Vega but I prefer to be called Lucian Vega. I love the way it sounds, its simple and easy to remember."
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but raised in a small nearby town called Caguas, Lucian Vega knew from a very young age that music would play a vital role in her life.
"Since I can remember, I loved to make noises with my mouth that suddenly became beat box sounds. I was very musical, and performed voice imitation shows with my toys as an audience.”
“When I was a little girl, I was always behind an instrument and singing along. Now I play the guitar, minor percussion, and a little bit of drums, but as a child the guiro, bongos, and cowbells, were my fun favorites. "
"By the age of 12, I was composing songs and listening to music all the time.”
A teacher with a Masters Degree in Educational Administration, Lucian has taken on many jobs throughout her life, always with the purpose of making people happy and earning a living. She has worked as a waiter, bartender, salesperson, and even studied 1 year of culinary arts in order to open her own food truck business. Despite all of these distractions, her heart has and always will be, in the music world.
With 21 years of experience in the music business under her belt, Lucian’s passion and ambition has her dreaming big, her goal to become an entrepreneur in the music & arts business a very strong reality.
When asked about her island, she beamed with pride.
"My Island...My Puerto Rico…We’ve got it all! We’ve got the ocean, mountains, the music, the arts, culture, food, and peace. We love to gossip, we are happy, we honor our familia, we have corazon. And we’ve got soul.”
What about Hurricane Maria?
Hurricane Maria most certainly affected Lucian and her beautiful home and island. It was a time for the Puerto Rican people to come together and pray. She felt a tremendous responsibility to help her family, neighbors and friends to keep positive and get through this life altering event.
"I was the only one in my family and neighbors with cellphone communication, but just to the United States, so we were uncommunicative for a long time. I started to help people from PR to communicate with their families from the states. It was a great relief simply sharing the news that we were alive.”
Puerto Rico is still suffering the consequences of Maria in many areas, PTSD still a harsh reality for her and many. Lucian counts her blessings and forges on, proud to be a Boriqua and ready to make her mark on her island and the world. Mission, Vision, and Philosophy of Life; these are her core values and what guides her towards the future.
In 2015, Lucian started her own music project called El Golpe, a band and record label that performs throughout Puerto Rico and around the United States. She currently calls home to San Juan, Fajardo and Luquillo, where she splits her time and shares her life with her beloved family, her chihuahua named Taco, and her best friend and girlfriend Sirkia.
She admires artists like The Beatles, Calvin Harris, Manu Chao, and Pedro Capo, and others, for their influence and contributions to music history. Her focus, just as these composers, is to write and share music that delivers a poignant message and makes a positive impact on the lives of others.
It was my honor to spend several hours with Lucian getting to know her behind the scenes and capturing her personality through portraits. Her energy is alive and contagious, and I have no doubt that this very talented artist and performer is going places.
