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Cuban-American singer and cabaret act known for her residency on the Clive James Show
The broadcaster and critic Clive James loved words – written and spoken – and enjoyed nothing more than twisting around on his tongue the name of Margarita Pracatan, who has died of heart failure aged 89 and was resident singer on his ITV show in the 1990s.
Somewhere between novelty act and parody, the Cuban-American vocalist sat alongside sadistic Japanese game shows in James’s witty mix of highbrow and lowbrow culture to sing massive hits such as Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called to Say I Love You in her heavily accented Hispanic vocal style – described by one critic as “somewhere between Speedy Gonzales and Carmen Miranda” – while wearing a brightly coloured feather boa and often animatedly providing the keyboard accompaniment. Aware of her comedy pull, she performed two versions of Lionel Richie’s Hello – one “romantic”, one “disco”. Continue reading...