Anita Mahfood

Anita "Margarita" Mahfood (died 2 January 1965) was a dancer, actress, and singer in Jamaica. She was called "the famous Rhumba queen" and headlined performances. Her career developed during the ska era, prior to the emergence of reggae, performing and composing Jamaican popular music of that period, which made her one of the early women in Jamaica to write and sing her own material. Mahfood was murdered in 1965, by her boyfriend Don Drummond of the Skatalites band.

Early life

Anita Mahfood was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She had three sisters. Her father was Jad Mahfood, a fisherman. Her family were Syrian-Lebanese-Jamaican, with ancestors who emigrated from Syria and Lebanon to Jamaica in the 1870s to pursue commercial trade.

Music, life and death

Mahfood lived in east Kingston, on Ocean View Avenue. She was married to Ruldolph Bent, a boxer from Belize, with whom she had two children: Christopher and Suzanne.

Starting in the 1950s, Mahfood was a regular in the clubs in Kingston. She frequently performed as a dancer with Count Ossie, who backed her during her performances. Mahfood was scheduled to dance as part of "Opportunity Knocks", a talent showcase at the Ward Theatre...

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