Welcome To The Archive for "Dona Drake"! Yay!

Dona Drake was an American singer, dancer and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. Of three-quarters black heritage, she presented herself as Mexican and went by the names Una Novella and Rita Novella, typically being cast in “ethnic” roles including Hispanics and Middle Easterners, though occasionally took the role of white characters. As Mexican “Rita Rio”, she led a touring all-girl orchestra in the early 1940s, also known as “Dona Drake and her Girl Band”, among other names for her musical and dance acts.