I was combing through some copies of Star Newspapers that I had made a few years back at the library in Kingston, and lo and behold, I found an advertisement from December 28, 1964 for the Skatalites’ show that ended in tragedy–Don Drummond murdering his girlfriend, the Rhumba Queen, Margarita (Anita Mahfood).
On the same page appears an advertisement for a show the night before, New Year’s Eve:
Just to be clear, the dancer in this advertisement above is not Margarita–it is Princess Zandra, who was also a popular rhumba and floor show entertainer. Rhumba dancers were a draw for many live bands during this time, so Zandra was a popular performer, as was Margarita, Madame Wasp, and others.
If you wish to read more on the murder of Margarita at the hands of Don Drummond, you can read my book, Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World’s Greatest Trombonist, or if you want a quicker read, you can click this link to my blog post on the topic:
http://old.skabook.com/foundationska/2015/08/don-drummond-and-the-murder-of-margarita/
Here is a close up of the two Skatalites logos on this advertisements, which I think are super cool:
You can see the names of the members (though a few are spelled incorrectly) clockwise from left, Lloyd Brevett, Dizzy Johnny Moore, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Lord Tanamo, Lester Sterling, Harold McKenzie, Lloyd Knibb, and Don Drummond.
More on Margarita:
http://old.skabook.com/foundationska/tag/margarita-mahfood/
http://old.skabook.com/foundationska/2013/08/margarita-mahfood/
http://old.skabook.com/foundationska/2015/02/margarita-domestic-violence/
http://old.skabook.com/foundationska/2015/07/more-margarita/
Heather Augustyn 