Felipe Rose

Felipe Ortiz Rose (born January 12, 1954) is an American musician who was an original member of the disco group the Village People.

While in the group, he performed as "The Indian",[2] usually wearing a costume consisting of an imitation, "bespangled war bonnet",[3] loincloth, and theatrical face paint.

He describes being encouraged by an aunt to begin dancing in what he says was "his father's tribal regalia,"[1] which he says led to his costume, acting and neon facepaint in the Village People.

"His aunt, he has said, inspired him to work the Indian angle into his showbiz ambitions: 'Why not honor your father's heritage,' Rose has recalled her saying, 'and dress in your tribal regalia in your dance journey through culture?

[1] From 2000 to 2008, while still part of Village People, Felipe wrote and recorded "Trail of Tears," "We're Still Here," "Red Hawk Woman" and "Going Back to My Roots.

[3] His 2018 single, "Going Back to My Roots," begins with a Lakota prayer and includes a rap by Native American hip-hop artist Sten Joddi.

[1] In a 2008 interview, he stated that approximately four or five years prior, he moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey, on the advice of several friends who lived there, saying, "So I came down and I just fell in love with the shore...

He then revamped the show idea with the late Chef Lou Petrozza, a Hell's Kitchen runner-up, but ABC declined unless the other Village People members were present.

The Village People receive their Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Rose is center front.