Anita "Margarita" Mahfood (died 31 December 1965) was a dancer, actress, and singer in Jamaica. She was called "the famous Rhumba queen" and headlined performances. She also performed

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music, writing and singing her own music, one of the first women in Jamaica to do so. Mahfood was murdered on New Year's Day in 1965 by her boyfriend

Don Drummond Don Drummond (12 March 1932Cane-Honeysett, L: ''Don Drummond Memorial Album'', liner notes. Trojan 2009. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many ...

of the

Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many oth ...

band.

Early life

Mahfood was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She had three sisters. Her father was Jad Mahfood, a fisherman. Her family were Lebanese-Jamaican, with ancestors who emigrated from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

to Jamaica in the 1870s to pursue commercial trade.

Music, life and death

She lived in east Kingston, on Ocean View Avenue. She was married to Ruldolph Bent, a boxer from

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. She had two children with Bent, 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 Count Ossie, born Oswald Williams (23 April 1926Ancestry.com. Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995 atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. – 18 October 1976Moskowitz, David V. ...

, who backed her during her dance performances. Mahfood was scheduled to dance as part of "Opportunity Knocks", a talent showcase at the Ward Theatre in Kingston. Promoter Vere Johns refused to let Count Ossie back up Mahfood because he was a

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

. Discrimination of this kind was common during the 1950s. Mahfood refused to perform, knowing that if she did not appear Johns would have a lower attendance at the event. Johns eventually relented and Mahfood performed with Count Ossie and his band. The performance ended up being the first Count Ossie and his band ever had in front of a mainstream audience. Saxophone player Ferdinand Gaynair said he also had a relationship with her. In the early 1960s, Mahfood met

, trombone player of the

, at Count Ossie's Rastafarian commune in the Wareika Hills. By the time they met, Drummond had

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

and already self-checked himself into Bellevue Hospital in Kingston twice due to his mental health. Mahfood and her husband had divorced and she and Drummond started living together. Drummond was physically and mentally abusive to Mahfood. He was easily triggered, attacking her in front of bandmates. Mahfood released the single ''Woman Come'' (also called ''Woman A Come'') on Black Swan in 1964. The single featured the Skatalites as her backing band. The Rastafarian-influenced song is a

love letter A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings. History One of the oldest references to a l ...

to Drummond. On 31 December 1965, Drummond missed the Skatalite's New Year's Eve concert at La Parisienne in

Harbour View, Jamaica Harbour View is a community in Kingston, Jamaica. It is administered by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation and is served by the Kingston 17 Post Office. Harbour View was built in 1960, two years before the country's Independence in 1962. Th ...

, after Mahfood accidentally gave him the wrong medication. That night Mahfood was working at a club in Rockfort. When Mahfood returned home from work at 3:30 AM, Drummond attacked her. He stabbed her in the chest four times, killing her instantly. Drummond went to the local police station and claimed that Mahfood had stabbed herself. When they arrived at the house, Mahfood was dead on the bed, with the knife still in her body, and Mahfood's hand shoved inside the bell of Drummond's

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

. Drummond was arrested and represented by the Skatalites' manager. Drummond was found guilty but

criminally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cr ...

and was committed to Bellevue Hospital, where he died in 1969.

Legacy

In 2013, Mahfood was honoured by the

University of Technology, Jamaica The University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.), formerly the College of Arts, Science and Technology, is a public university in Jamaica. History The university was founded as the Jamaica Institute of Technology in 1958. The following ye ...

, for her contributions to Jamaican music. In 2016, Herbie Miller gave a presentation on Drummond and Mahfood at the Jamaican Music Museum.

Discography

*"Woman Come" (1964) on Black Swan records

Filmography

*''It Can Happen to You'' (1956)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahfood, Anita 1965 deaths Jamaican people of Lebanese descent 20th-century Jamaican women singers Jamaican female dancers Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Female murder victims Jamaican reggae singers