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Marquita Rivera
"First Puerto Rican actress to appear in a major Hollywood motion picture"
Born	Maria Heroina Rivera de Santiago
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, dancer
Spouse(s)	Dr. Eugene N. Biscardi, Jr.

Marquita Rivera (May 18, 1922 - October 21, 2002) was a Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer who became the first Puerto Rican actress to appear in a major Hollywood motion picture, Road to Rio, opposite Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour .

Dubbed the "Queen of La Conga," "Queen of Latin Rhythm" and "Latin Hurricane" during various stages of her career, Rivera, went on to enjoy a strong musical career both in the United States and in her native Puerto Rico.

Early life

Template:Unosurced Born Maria Heroina Rivera de Santiago in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, she was the youngest in a family of seven sons and five daughters. The de Santiagos moved to New York City when Rivera was only three months old and it was there that her musical career blossomed. Studying dance and flamenco at an early age (6), she originally studied with Rita Hayworth's father, well-known dance master Eduardo Cansino. Rita herself gave Rivera a set of castanets as a gift.

Acting and singing career

A childhood friend of bandleader Tito Puente, Rivera's musical talents were noticed early. Accompanied by her costume designer mother, the teenage Rivera went on to earn a featured role as a dancer with "George White’s Scandals of 1937," but it was her performance before King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the 1939 New York World's Fair during their respective royal visits in 1939 that she considered the highlight of her nascent career. She also toured Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia in bands headed by Paul Whiteman and Noro Morales. Appearing in many New York venues, including The Roxy, Paramount, Loews State, Strand and Radio City Music Hall, Rivera shared their stages with such illustrious stars as Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Ann Miller, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Kathryn Grayson, Victor Borge, Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin and Betty Hutton.

Rivera became an established name on the club circuit when she put together her own show and performed it at the Latin Quarter (nightclub) and Havana-Madrid in New York. She was also a marquee name back in her homeland where she entertained at popular venues such as Zero's Nightclub and the famous El San Juan Theatre. In the mid 1940s Rivera was signed by Azteca Studios in Mexico City. She acted for director Fernando Soler in both the film drama Me perigue una mujer (1947) with Jose Torvay and David Silva, and the comedy El Conquistador (1947), also starring Torvay and Enrique Herrera.

After her contract ended at Azteca, Rivera drew the interest of Paramount Studios. Thus, the singer/actress went on to become the first native Puerto Rican actress/dancer to sign a Hollywood contract with a major studio, and made her American movie debut as lead singer and specialty performer in the Hope-Crosby-Lamour comedy The Road to Rio (1947). During this promising turn of events, Rivera was selected (in a popularity poll by Mexican filmgoers themselves) to star in a Hollywood film biography of the late Mexican spitfire Lupe Velez. Unfortunately, the film was shelved when legal issues involving Ms. Velez’s estate reared its head. She continued to work in such popular "hot spots" such as the famous Ciro's nightclub with Desi Arnaz's band.

Retirement and later years

Rivera was married to business tycoon Albert Vernon Ashbrook from 1946 to 1949 and had one child, Marquita, her namesake. In 1951, she married physician Eugene N. Biscardi Jr. in New York City. They eventually became a family of seven children. Of their children, eldest son Eugene Biscardi III is a one-time model-turned-fashion photographer who has appeared occasionally as an actor on film and TV, and daughter Jessica Biscardi is a former model/actress and former "Miss New York".

By the 1950s, Rivera had phased out her career in order to concentrate on raising her large family. In 1963, however, she made a special appearance at Carnegie Hall that featured an all-star lineup, including opera performers Thomas Hayward, Rina Telli, Dino Formichini and James Boxwill, led by Philharmonic conductor Warner S. Bass. She did not appear again publicly until 1977 when she returned to the stage in a limited engagement of her own off-Broadway revue, "The Marquita Rivera Show".

In the 1980s her husband, Dr. Biscardi, retired and the couple relocated to Los Angeles where Rivera would occasionally make TV appearances, including "Sanford" with Redd Foxx. She also traveled frequently throughout the South on the beauty pageant circuit as a judge. Following the death of her husband in 1988, Rivera chose to retire completely from the limelight.

On October 21 in 2002, Rivera died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, California after suffering a stroke. She is survived by her 7 children - daughters Marquita Press, Jessica Wolford and Lucrezia Silver, and sons Eugene Biscardi III, Louis Biscardi, Robert Biscardi and Joseph Biscardi, as well as 17 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans

References

1. Hollywood Reporter (2002-11-06). "Obituaries". allbusiness.com. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
2. Internet Movie Database. "Marquita Rivera". imdb.com. Retrieved 2008-04-14.

• 1922 births
• 2002 deaths
• American film actors
• American stage actors
• American television actors
• People from Fajardo, Puerto Rico
• People from New York City
• Puerto Rican actors
• Puerto Rican film actors
• Puerto Rican female singers