[1] She was born in Easter Island in 1977 to parents Arturo Orando Alarcón Espinoza and María Hortencia Rapu Tuki.

Laura Rapu, then known as Laura Alarcón Rapu, gained fame during the late 1980s in Chilean media, when she sang her original song "Iorana Presidente" (Hello President), which had both Spanish and Rapa Nui lyrics, during a visit from military dictator Augusto Pinochet, which was later used an anthem for the pro-Pinochet campaign of the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite.

[4] Later on, she stated that she does not sympathize to Pinochet's government or policies and was simply honoring the visit from a president, as the island did not usually get such important visitors.

[5] She earned a degree in anthropology and until 2018 was member of the Valparaíso Region Council for the Isla de Pascua Province during two tenures.

[6] On 5 March 2018, being a defender of Rapa Nui traditions, culture, heritage and language, she was appointed by President Sebastián Piñera as the new governor of the Island, succeeding Melania Hotu.