Margarita Pracatan (born Margarita Figueroa; 11 June 1931 – 23 June 2020) was a Cuban-born novelty singer, who became well-known in the 1990s when she performed regularly on Clive James' TV show in Britain.

Biography

Margarita Figueroa was born in Santiago, Cuba. Her father was a union leader.[1] She began to sing at home when she was three years old.[1] Her family fled to the U.S. after the Cuban revolution. She worked in a store selling men's underwear while singing at night.[1]

She found success in the 1990s when she was booked on numerous occasions to appear on Clive James's television show in the UK, adopting the surname "Pracatan".[2] James showed clips of her heavily Hispanic-inflected performances of pop hits (including Lionel Richie's "Hello" and "New York, New York") on his BBC series Saturday Night Clive.[2] According to her website, Clive James discovered her on Manhattan public-access television cable TV program in 1994 and invited her to the UK to appear on his show.[2] He sweet-talked her into believing he was serious, and she signed up. Although he never mocked her openly, his introductions to her end-of-show performances contained teasing irony. James once said of Pracatan, "She never lets the words or melody get in her way. She is us, without the fear of failure."[2]

Pracatan toured regularly in the United Kingdom and Australia,[1][3] also appearing as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival during the mid-1990s. Pracatan appeared in an episode of Real Housewives of New York City in 2019, performing a cover version of Luann de Lesseps’s “Money Can’t Buy You Class”. Radio DJ Martin Kelner also played her frequently on his BBC Night Network and BBC Radio 2 programmes.

Pracatan died in New York in June 2020, aged 89.[4][5][6] She was divorced with one daughter.[1]

Discography

Year Title Label
1996 Live At The Palladium RCA
1996 Hello (Maxi Single) RCA
2000 Margarita Pracatan IND
2003 The Best IND

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Greenstreet, Rosanna (May 3, 1997). "Lastword: The Questionnaire: Margarita Pracatan". The Guardian. p. T.065.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kendall, Paul (May 10, 2009). "whatever happened to... Margarita Pracatan". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 54.
  3. ↑ http://www.margarita.com.au/margarita-articles/1996/11/8/the-margarita-effect/
  4. ↑ "Cuban singer Margarita Pracatan dies at 89". BBC News. 24 June 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  5. ↑ Obituary by Chip Duckett at kennethinthe212
  6. ↑ Louis Chilton (24 June 2020). "Margarita Pracatan death: The Clive James Show singer dies aged 89". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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