Even if you don't know her by name, you know who Carmen Miranda is. Have you ever seen a Latina woman singing and dancing while wearing a hat full of fruit? Well, that was Carmen Miranda's signature look back in the forties, when she became the most popular entertainer in America. I am joined by writer Francisco Mendoza to talk about Carmen's fascinating, complicated, and ultimately tragic story.

Learn more about Francisco and his work: https://www.notrealmendoza.com/ 

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Stuff mentioned in this episode:

Throughout the episode Francisco refers to a "book," he is talking about a biography of Carmen Miranda by Ruy Castro. Sadly, it's only been published in Portuguese: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_-_Uma_Biografia

Carmen performing "The Lady with the Tutti Frutti Hat": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLsTUN1wVrc&ab_channel=AndromedaHeartAndromedaHeart

"They say I've come back Americanized": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvM15FbTsGc&ab_channel=GregoryMayGregoryMay

Disney's Brazilian parrot Zé Carioca: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Carioca