Viva caught up with India in Taranto, Italy, where the salsa star was attending a festival last weekend before coming to New York to play at People en Español’s Fiesta 2009, an all-day event this Saturday in Central Park.

In an hour-long phone interview, the Puerto Rican-born, Bronx-raised singer, who is marking 25 years in music and whose hits include “Ese Hombre” (“That Man”) and “Sola” (“Alone”), was frank about her life’s struggles.

The 39-year-old laughed heartily as she dished out romance advice to female fans, wept recalling the nearly 15 years she spent estranged from her mother and was candid about her fight with manic-depression, which has led her to the use of medical marijuana.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2009/09/10/2009-09-10_exclusive_india_...