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.
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.[ citation needed]
Pracatan died in New York in June 2020, aged 89. [4] [5] [6] She was divorced with one daughter. [1]
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1996 | Live At The Palladium | RCA |
1996 | Hello (Maxi Single) | RCA |
2000 | Margarita Pracatan | IND |
2003 | The Best | IND |