Margarita Pracatan

Margarita Pracatan (born Margarita Figueroa; 11 June 1931 – 23 June 2020) was a Cuban-born novelty singer, who became well-known in the UK, during the 1990s, when she performed regularly on television on Saturday Night Clive hosted by Clive James.

Biography Margarita Figueroa was born in Santiago, Cuba. Her father was a union leader. She began to sing at home when she was three years old. 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. also appearing as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival during the mid-1990s. Pracatan appeared in an episode of The Real Housewives of New York City in 2019, performing a cover version of Luann de Lesseps’s "Money Can't Buy You Class". Radio disc jockey 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. She was divorced with one daughter.

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