Above: Selene Luna. Photo by Peter Palladino.
“Selene Luna lives in a building once inhabited by Lucille Ball, and whatever magic Ball left in the walls seems to have rubbed off. Luna radiates old Hollywood glamour, and it’s not just the kitten heels or the torpedo bra. She’s got a quirky humor reminiscent of the red-haired comedian, made naughty by a touch of Bettie Page sensuality and the girlish charm of Betty Boop. It’s that kind of presence that has made Luna one of the most recognizable faces in the city’s burlesque-revival scene.”
PANDORA YOUNG
LA WEEKLY, LA PEOPLE 2007
Selene is pretty irresistible, I must say. I’ve known her for years, but I really got to know her while performing with her in Margaret Cho’s Sensuous Woman show, and she has as much charisma and charm backstage as she does onstage. Besides being one of my favorite performers and an intensely glamourous lady and an all-around lovely person, she makes me pee laughing.
How did you get interested in burlesque?
I feel a bit like a cheater because it kind of fell in my lap! It happened really fast and I wasn’t even expecting to have any sort of career in it. I’ve dabbled in everything in the interest of surviving as an artist, in LA the whole time. I was born in Mexico but grew up in LA from the age of 3. I had been going to Velvet Hammer shows but I never thought I wanted to be up there. Out of the blue, Michelle called me about a show in San Diego and asked me if I wanted to do it. I like to scare myself so I did it. I would say that my first couple performances sucked! but I think I got the hang of it, mainly because I had amazing influences around me, with my friends who had already been doing it for five years. I had great mentors. And I got hooked.
What does burlesque mean to you?
Off the cuff, it means anything goes, let’s have fun, and that’s what got me hooked. We had such a blast, one of the greatest times in my life, so many adventures! Nobody took it seriously. We were just good friends who felt the same about makeup and costumes and just wanted to play.
What was your first experience with live burlesque?
Right before the Velvet Hammer formed I saw the International Girls of the World at Kate Valentine’s cabaret in the early 90s in LA. I was a magicians assistant at the time. That was my first sighting of the neo-burlesque movement, as opposed to an old movie of burlesque. Shortly after that Michelle and members of IGW became The Velvet Hammer.
Above: Selene backstage at the Zipper Theatre, hamming it up for the cellphones.
What is one of your favorite experiences so far?
I am very very fortunate to be able to say I’ve had many amazing experiences! One that stands out is when I got to share the stage with Tura Satana in a VH show. At that point I was like, I can quit now, what else is there? I was starstruck like a little kid. She held my hand, and we took a bow together and I was trying not to lose it. When I planned my tribute to her at Exotic World I was so freaked out and nervous about it that I couldn’t even talk to her about it even though we had had a friendly relationship. After I did it she came backstage to congratulate and hug me and was really nurturing about it and I realized I could have gone to her for input!