She Made Everyone Laugh, Even When the Mics Were Broken
Luly Perez Was Born Performing - Now the Curtain Falls
This post was meant to introduce you to the peculiar, playful universe of Jazz Cow, your backstage pass to something wonderfully absurd, complete with visual influences. The words were mostly in place, and I’d just begun rummaging through folders, hunting for the right images.
Then this week, I received a call from Luly Perez’s agent with the terrible news that she had died.
I had been so looking forward to the prospect of working with her. I could already picture the recording studio crackling with comic energy. Playing the role of both mother and cheeky comic opponent to the rest of the cast. When funny people meet around a funny script, something magical happens.
During a particularly chaotic livestream last autumn, Luly was extraordinary. She roasted my poor friend and collaborator Chris (whom she had never met) for his tea-drinking habits.
and gleefully mocked Dr. Popp (played by Silas Hawkins) over his dubious Russian culinary traditions.
What you wouldn’t know from her performance is that the tech wasn’t yet working - no one could hear each other clearly, it was noisy, and there was chaos in the room. And yet, Luly filled in the gaps, improvising, keeping everyone laughing. Her positivity was infectious. You need upbeat, encouraging people when starting new things.
She described herself as having performed since birth. As the first granddaughter in a huge family:
“I held a privileged place in my Latin family, showered with attention, expected to sing, recite, act and entertain at every family celebration.”
It was while studying economics at university in Venezuela that she discovered theatre. In fact, she skipped her graduation ceremony, where she had been chosen as the speaker, to attend an audition; she got the part! She went on to study at the Ateneo de Caracas, and went on to do more theatre, television (especially soap operas), and film, always her greatest love.
Finding an Afro-Latina actor-comedian in the UK isn’t easy, but my vision for Jazz Cow was always that Valentina, our lead vocalist, would be Afro-Latina. Jazz, as Jelly Roll Morton said, carries “the Spanish tinge”, and I’d long imagined a Celia Cruz or La Lupe-type character: shy, brilliant, caught between cultures. Meeting Luly felt like discovering a missing piece. A poetic twist: her late husband was nicknamed “Mr Pop”.
She leaves behind her young daughter, Kassandra Keane Perez. I can only imagine the heartbreak of losing both parents. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with her.
As for the visual influences on Jazz Cow’s world, it will have to wait. And that’s probably just as well. What started as a single post now looks like it wants to stretch its legs, maybe even scatter itself across a few instalments.
We’ll see where it goes from here.