Zarate & Paquita

Myrtle Watkins (23 June 1908 – 10 November 1968) was an American-born Mexican dancer, jazz and Latin American music singer, and actress, who came to be known in the United States and Mexico as Paquita Zarate. During the winter of 1928, she joined the cast of the 2nd version of Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds". In May 1930, she appeared in the chorus of the Embassy cabaret floor-show S.H. Dudley Jr's "Hot-Stuff". She arrived in Spain the following year, appearing performed semi-nude, imitating the Spanish dancer Carmen Tortola Valencia, under the name Perla de Oriente, in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville. Returning to France in 1934, Ada Bricktop Smith postponed the opening of her new club until Myrtle arrived. Afterwards she undertook a European tour, appearing in England, Holland, Belgium, Turkey, Germany and Hungary. Late 1935, while touring India, she was introduced to Malaysian cricket player, Lall Singh, who took a short break from cricket and returned to Europe with Myrtle, as her theatrical agent and husband. In the spring of 1937 during the Paris Exposition Internationale, she was accompanied by Samuel Bonifacio Zarate (May 14, 1909-May 21, 1997), a Mexican violinist popular among French audiences for his virtuoso violin skills. He worked with Carlos Chávez Sinfónica de Mexico at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and graduated from the Mexican National Conservatory, where he was a disciple of Luis G. Saloma. He earned a scholarship from the Mexican government and studied in Paris at the l'Ecole Normale Superieur. Zarate and Myrtle quickly became a musical team. During the fall of 1939, while Myrtle (by this time using the stage name, Paquita) and Zarate toured Poland, the atmosphere suddenly grew dark in Europe. In August, she was appearing on Radio-Warsaw and La Bagatelle club in Katowice when on September 1, World War II started as Nazi troops quickly seized Poland. As Poland underwent military mobilization to defend itself, she was able to get documents to flee back to Paris. After some, probably appearing in Vichy-France, Myrtle and her partner Zarate departed for India. Despite large success in Bombay and Calcutta, the newly engaged couple escaped to Mexico in 1943, however they relocated to Los Angeles because it offered more opportunities in the entertainment field by the late-40s. They were regular entertainers around Los Angeles, Reno, Salt Lake City, San Jose and Eugene, Oregon. In 1951, they filed for American neutrality in order to establish themselves more in the United States. In 1957, Sam Zarate opened his own music recording company, ZARPAC, based in both Los Angeles and Portland. . The following year, they released a religious album, each song dedicated to different religions across the world such as Hinduism and Christianity. In 1959, the couple bought a small green house called ‘Trails End’ on six acres of brushland between Lincoln City and Depoe Bay, Oregon. They built a studio, so Zarate could teach violin, guitar, piano, flute and organ - instruments had mastered over the years. Myrtle gave lessons in dance and numerous languages. There was also an adjoining restaurant, The Gingerbread House providing traditional Spanish and Indian cuisine. A number of local children enrolled at their Happy Village Cultural Center. However the institution wasn’t profitable, especially as Myrtle became too involved with the children, and it hurt her health, which was already debilitated by diabetes. To continue running things, they made numerous appearances along the west coast. Myrtle ‘Paquita’ Zarate died on November 10, 1968 of diabetic complications. Samuel Zarate continued performing across the Oregon and Mexico until his death in 1997.