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 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 of the Skatalites band.

Early life

Mahfood was born in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Jamaica. She had three sisters. Her father was Jad Mahfood, a fisherman. Her family were Lebanese-Jamaican, with ancestors who emigrated from Lebanon 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. 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, 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 Joseph Vere Everette Johns (28 November 1893–10 September 1966

refused to let Count Ossie back up Mahfood because he was a Rastafarian. 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 Ferdinand "Bobby Little Bra" Gaynair is a saxophone player from Jamaica who now lives in Canada. He was born in East Kingston in the 1920s. He received an Order of Distinction. He was part of the Alpha Boys School. He played and recorded with vario ...

said he also had a relationship with her. In the early 1960s, Mahfood met Don Drummond, trombone player of the Skatalites, at Count Ossie's Rastafarian commune in the

Wareika Hills Long Mountain is a mountain on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica. Parts of it are also known as Wareika or Wareika Hills. It has been the site of a residence and later a Rastafarian commune of Count Ossie. Nyabinghi drummers from his Camp Da ...

. By the time they met, Drummond had schizophrenia 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 The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...

in 1964. The single featured the Skatalites as her backing band. The Rastafarian-influenced song is a love letter to Drummond. On 31 December 1965, Drummond missed the Skatalite's New Year's Eve concert at La Parisienne in Harbour View, Jamaica, 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. Drummond was arrested and represented by the Skatalites' manager. Drummond was found guilty but criminally insane and was committed to Bellevue Hospital, where he died in 1969.

Legacy

In 2013, Mahfood was honoured by the University of Technology, Jamaica, 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

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