Lupe Lamora is the fictional girlfriend of Latin American drug lord Franz Sanchez. The character serves as a secondary Bond girl in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill and was portrayed by American model and actress Talisa Soto. The character also appears in John Gardner’s accompanying novelization.
Biography
Lupe Lamora is the alleged name of a young woman from Latin America who won a beauty contest rigged by businessman and drug lord Franz Sanchez. After working as a croupier in the Casino de Isthmus, owned by Sanchez in the Republic of Isthmus, she eventually became the cocaine trafficker’s mistress. However, she is afraid of him and seeks to leave him. However, knowing that she cannot leave Sanchez without his permission and that he is watching her closely, Lupe is condemned to stay with him, sharing his life of luxury.
License to Kill (film)
Lupe Lamora is first seen in the pre-title sequence. Franz Sanchez pursues her to the Bahamas, strangling a guard and catching her with another man, Alvarez. As an ironic gesture, Sanchez orders his enforcer Dario to cut out his heart and give it to Lupe, whilst he personally whips her with a manta ray tail for her infidelity. Sanchez and Lamora then leave and attempt to escape, drawing the attention of the DEA, who call upon Felix Leiter and James Bond to help apprehend Sanchez.
Later, she is shown to be living in the Wavecrest without Sanchez. Milton Krest uses this opportunity to harass her, much to her chagrin. At night, Bond approaches her with a knife, demanding to know the whereabouts of Sanchez. She protests that she does not know as he never told her. Bond sees his friend, Sharkey, dead outside and leaves Lupe behind to take revenge on the henchmen who killed him.
She turns up, along with Sanchez, at his hotel, while Bond poses as a guest/potential member of Sanchez’s cartel. She expresses her concern and love for James in front of a jealous Pam Bouvier and Q. Later; she helps Bond surreptitiously escape in return for helping her escape from Sanchez.
Finally, Bond encounters her again at the movie’s end party after he defeats Sanchez. She thanks him again for his help, and they kiss. This catches the attention of Bouvier, who sadly walks down to the pool alone. Bond, faced with a decision between two girls, ultimately chooses Bouvier over Lupe, instead setting her up with the President of Isthmus City.
Behind the scenes
Robert Davi, who played Sanchez, helped with the casting of Sanchez’s mistress Lupe Lamora by playing Bond in the audition. Talisa Soto was picked from twelve candidates because Davi said he “would kill for her.”
