Luisa Lopez

Luisa Lopez
Biographical Information
Occupation	Store Owner
Status	Alive
Relationships
Affiliation	Lopez Bodega
Relatives	Luis Lopez (husband) Mateo Lopez (son) Miguel Lopez (son) Jorge Lopez (son) Unnamed sons
Appearances
Actor	Daphne Rubin-Vega
First Appearance	"Chapter Two: You Can't Hurry Love"
Last Appearance	"Chapter Thirteen: Come Together"

“	I was on the road with Starlight Express before you were born, for over a year. It was the best year of my life.	”
	— Luisa to Jorge[src]

Luisa Lopez is a recurring character on The CW's Katy Keene. She is portrayed by Daphne Rubin-Vega.

Luisa is the wife of Luis Lopez, with whom she owns Lopez Bodega with and the mother of Jorge Lopez.

Character Description

She's described as a doting mother, a former Rockette and now owner, with her husband Luis, of a bodega in Washington Heights. She supports her son Jorge's ambitions to make it on Broadway, but doesn't know about his drag alter ego, Ginger.

Early Life

For over a year before her son Jorge was born, Luisa was on the road with the Starlight Express musical. She describes it as the best year of her life. When Jorge came out at 14, she and Luis kicked him out of the house. They all didn't speak to each other for months until Jorge moved back in.

Throughout Katy Keene

Season 1

Pushing Jorge to Pursue Theater

Luisa persuades Jorge to go to the audition

At Lopez Bodega, Luisa, Jorge’s mother, brings him an open call for Cats, the musical. However, Jorge plans to take a break from Broadway. He’s tired of being told no. However, Luisa explains that being told no is part of the job. She was told no numerous times when she auditioned to be a Rockette. She believes that he’s wasting time at the bar, when instead he should be taking classes at the Broadway Dance Center. Jorge concedes and agrees to go to the audition.

Jorge gets called to go on tour

While working at the bodega, Jorge gets a call from the director of the Jefferson musical. He got the part. However, they don’t want him for the Broadway. They want Jorge for the tour, it’s non-equity. Luisa assures him that he’ll make it through. She was on the road with Starlight Express before Jorge was born for over a year. It was in fact the best year of her life. She insists that this is worth celebrating and hugs her son.

Outside the bodega, Jorge tells his mother that he’s not leaving, causing Luisa to question what’s holding him in New York. Jorge explains everything he wants to accomplish is in New York. His heart is telling him that he has to stay. He asks his mother to trust him. "Of course I trust you," Luisa replies.

Luisa and Luis checks on Jorge's hand

Luisa and Luis enter Jorge's apartment after the fire department is called. Jorge is treated for burns on his hand. They asks what happened. Jorge explains that he’s fine and that it was just an accident. KO recently moved in, and he didn’t know they used the oven for storage. Luis questions just how many people are living in the apartment.

Jorge and Bernardo make out in his room until being interrupted by the arrival of Jorge’s parents, Luis and Luisa. Jorge and Bernardo get dressed and meet them in the kitchen. They invite Bernardo down to the bodega to eat, but he has to leave, promising to take them up on the offer at another time. Jorge tells his parents that his relationship with Bernardo is new. Luis is in disbelief that Jorge managed to get a guy like Bernardo, a big, strong firefighter.

Meeting Ginger

Luisa crosses paths with Ginger

In the morning, Luisa is coming up the stairs as Ginger is leaving. She suspiciously looks at Ginger and asks if she need any help. Ginger tells her no and quickly leaves. Later on, she is knocking on the apartment door explaining how Pepper left the rest of the enchiladas. Inside, Katy thanks her for bringing the food. Luisa asks where Jorge is, and Katy lies by saying that he is at Bernardo's. She then comments on how hot it is in the apartment and asks Katy how high do they have the temperature. Katy tells her that everything is fine and walks her out.

The next day, she is waiting on Jorge and tells him to hurry up as she needs to open up the shop. Jorge comes out as Ginger and explains everything. She tells Ginger how she reminds her of younger self. Ginger then asks should inform Luis yet, but Luisa says it would be too much for him. Before she leaves, Ginger asks if she could help her with Katy's sowing machine. They go out and buy Katy a new machine.

Jorge informs his mother, Luisa, that he lost his slot at Molly’s Crisis and the only way to win it back is to win the Miss Washington Heights Pageant. Luisa offers to help Jorge reclaim his spot, reminding him that she was Miss Puerto Rico.

Luisa gives Jorge her Miss Puerto Rico costume

Luisa gifts Jorge with her Miss Puerto Rico costume. Until she met Ginger, Luisa thought she would have to be buried in the outfit. Luisa has the perfect showstopper costume, but Jorge tells her that Katy’s already handling it. As for his Q&A, Jorge simply plans on being himself and speaking his truth, but Luisa tells him that pageants are about fitting into the mold, not breaking them. So, she helps him prepare.

The Washington Heights Pageant commences. Luisa, Katy, Prince Errol, Josie, Sierra, and Pepper watch from the crowd. Sierra tells Josie how she was in the East Village every weekend in her twenties. She’s plenty familiar with drag. Francois turns out to be the legendary VeeVee Humble, who's the contest judge. She asks Deveraux the first question. She then asks Ginger the same question, but Ginger rushes off the stage.

Luisa cheers Ginger on

For the talent portion of the pageant, VeeVee Humble welcomes Ginger back to the stage. Luisa, Katy, Prince Errol, Pepper, Josie, and Sierra cheer her on as she sings before the crowd. Deveraux tries to mess up her set, but Ginger continues her performance, much to the crowd’s amazement. However, despite her best effort, VeeVee Humble announces Deveraux as this year's Miss Washington Heights. Later, Luisa, Katy, Prince Errol, Pepper, Josie, Ginger, and Sierra take to the dance floor.

Luisa insists that she's not ashamed of Jorge

Luisa and Luis spray pesticide inside the apartment. They inform Jorge that four units have reported spiders. So, they’re taking precautions to prevent an infestation. Luisa then advises Jorge from walking alone at night as she’s heard about a string of attacks on gay men in the neighborhood. To lighten the mood, Jorge tells his parents about how he’ll be starring in his own musical production of "Kiss of the Spider Woman", which Luisa has seen on Broadway twelve times. Jorge invites them to the opening show, and Luis assures him they wouldn’t miss it. After Luis leaves the apartment, Luisa questions if this is a good idea. She asks if Jorge is playing Spider Woman as Ginger, as she worries how Luis would respond. Jorge tells her that he’ll only be playing Molina but questions if his mother is ashamed of him. Luisa replies that she’s never once been ashamed of Jorge and starts to sing. Maybe one day Jorge can tell Luis about Ginger, but Luisa is certain he’s not ready now.

Luis and Luisa at Jorge's show

Luisa, Luis, Katy, Guy, Pepper, Didi, Alex, Xandra, Francois, and Bernardo attend the show. Josie performs on stage briefly before being joined by Jorge, who is also playing Spider Woman. The two share the stage both as Spider Woman, concluding the show with a kiss. Afterward, they receive a standing ovation.

Luisa and Luis express how proud they are of Jorge. Luis’ favorite part is when Jorge kissed Josie. He then tells Jorge to change out of his costume and take the makeup off. Bernardo interjects that he thought Jorge was amazing as both Molina and the Spider Woman, and he never wants Jorge to change.

The Lopez' gather together after Jorge is attacked

Jorge and Bernardo retreat to the apartment after being jumped, where they are comforted by Katy, Josie, Pepper, KO, Luis, Luisa, and their sons. Bernardo recalls three to four attackers. They reported the attack to the police, but there isn’t much that can be done without any eyewitnesses. Jorge’s brother, Mateo, knows some of the guys at the precinct and offers to give them a call. KO went to Molly's Crisis to ask if anyone saw anything. He tells Jorge that they’ll always be family, before leaving.

Luisa tells Jorge to wear normal clothes when walking the street

Luis can’t believe that the hospital released Jorge in the condition that he’s in. However, it was Jorge’s idea to avoid any medical expenses. Luisa is thankful that Bernardo was there to protect Jorge, to which Jorge replies that he got a couple good swings in with his high heels. Luis questions why Jorge was wearing heels. Bernardo claims that he didn’t have time to change. Nevertheless, Luisa tells Jorge that moving forward, he is to put on his normal clothes when walking home. However, Jorge refuses. He reveals to his father that he’s been out in public dressed as a woman many times. Katy returns, and Jorge looks to Pepper and Josie for reassurance before revealing to his father that he’s a drag performer. Luis is outraged, even more at the fact that the rest of his family already knew.

Mending the Family Bond

Luisa convinces Jorge to make up with his father

Francois helps Jorge with his next musical production. Luisa prefers that Jorge start auditioning again, which he surmises is due to the fact that she doesn’t want him performing in drag. Luisa insists that she’s proud of Jorge. She saw his play 17 times, which he claims was only done so that she could critique his work. She reminds Jorge just how hard and messy life is. Jorge and Luis not talking to each other is taking a toll on Luisa, and she urges Jorge to fix it. Francois backs her up, reminding Jorge that they’re too many battles in the real world to best wasting time fighting with family.

Luisa and Luis have dinner with Jorge

Jorge has dinner with his parents. Luis and Luisa ask about Bernardo, who Jorge reveals broke up with him. Luis then apologizes for how he reacted to Jorge in drag. He’s trying to fix things between them, but all that he’s asking is that Jorge not walk home dressed as a woman for his own safety. However, Jorge doesn’t want to live by his father’s rules, but Luis says that he will if he continues to live under his roof. In that case, Jorge is prepared to move out, to which Luis replies "good luck out there." This triggers an emotional reaction from Jorge as that’s precisely what his father said to him when he kicked him out at 14. For Jorge, sometimes that wound feels as if it happened yesterday. It was extremely difficult for him to come out to them in the first place, only for them to kick him out. Eventually, Jorge crawled back home because he wanted his family back. And after all was said and done, Luis didn’t even bother to apologize. Mateo arrives and reveals that a suspect was just arrested for beating up a drag queen and his description matches that of Jorge’s attacker.

Luisa loves Jorge unconditionally

Luisa sits Jorge down and tells him that there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t think about the year that they kicked him out. She blames herself for not protecting him. Whoever he loves and however he dresses, she loves Jorge unconditionally. Jorge wishes that his father felt the same way. Luisa insists that he does, he just has a different way of showing it. He loves Jorge so much that when they had to raise the rent of the other units, he couldn’t bear the thought of Jorge and his friends leaving so they have been covering Jorge’s share for the past couple of years. He wants to keep Jorge close, but business at the bodega is slow, and they can barely afford the mortgage. Jorge offers to pay back whatever they owe, but Luisa doesn’t want his money. They’ve made a lot of sacrifices so that Jorge and his friends can live their dreams. Jorge and Luisa then start rehearsing lines for the Hedwick auditions in the paper.

Luisa and Luis tell Jorge they're being forced to sell

Luis and Luisa return to the bodega and inform Jorge that the city contacted the developer, who is forcing them to sell. Luis has been fighting this for years but all the other buildings on the block have already sold. Luisa tells Jorge to let it go, but he refuses. He says that his uncle would rollover in his grave if he found out they were giving up so easily. Jorge then hears Xandra and the Kitty Cats playing over the radio and calls Josie, who returns to the apartment just in time to hear her song being sung on the radio by Xandra.

The city gathers for the Miss Subway coronation at Riverside Park. Katy, Pepper, Josie, Xandra, Bernardo, Buzz, Francois, Luis, and Luisa attend. Deveraux crowns Ginger as the next Miss Subway. Jorge’s parents moved to the Heights with nothing but two suitcases. They left everything else behind. Washington Heights is the last place where they can afford to live. Ginger asks that they all sign the petition to stop the developers. Ginger, Luisa, VeeVee Humble, and Deveraux proceed to dance and sing.

Luis and Luisa at Katy's fashion show

Josie and the Pussycats perform at the fashion show set up at the Pepper Plant by Katy. Luis and Luisa attend as well. Jorge rips the runway as Ginger. As does Katy in one of her original designs.

Luisa, Luis, and Jorge celebrate at the bodega after learning that they have enough signatures to save the block. Hiram Lodge enters the bodega. He is the out of town buyer. He was so close to buying the block, but they stopped him. He was born in the Heights and he feels it’s time for him to come home.

Physical Appearance

Luisa is an older Hispanic woman with a tan complexion, brown eyes, and shoulder length brown hair with highlights.

Personality

Luisa is loving and kind, especially towards her family, which extends to close family friends such as Katy. Despite past drama with Jorge and his sexual orientation, she loves him and accepts him for who he is.

Relationships

Luis Lopez and Jorge Lopez

Luis, Luisa, and Jorge

Together, Luisa and Luis have built a family business. They own the bodega along with the apartments above it. They have been happily married for years and have six boys, Jorge the youngest of them all. Luisa loves and accepts Jorge unconditionally, though it wasn't always like that. When Jorge came out as gay, she and Luis kicked him out the house, forcing him to move in with Katy for a time. However, she and Luis would come to accept Jorge for who he is and invite him back home. In addition to him being gay, Luis was also very accepting of Jorge when he revealed he was a drag queen and would regularly perform at Molly's Crisis.

Appearances

Season 1

• "Chapter One: Once Upon a Time in New York" (mentioned)
• "Chapter Two: You Can't Hurry Love"
• "Chapter Three: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"
• "Chapter Four: Here Comes the Sun"
• "Chapter Five: Song for a Winter's Night"
• "Chapter Six: Mama Said"
• "Chapter Seven: Kiss of the Spider Woman"
• "Chapter Eight: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)"
• "Chapter Eleven: Who Can I Turn To"
• "Chapter Twelve: Chain of Fools" (mentioned)
• "Chapter Thirteen: Come Together"

Trivia

• She was Miss Puerto Rico.

Gallery

See also: Category:Images of Luisa Lopez