María Luisa Carballo Cortés

Acclaimed Cuban actress, singer, and dancer, better known by her stage name ''Cuquita'' Carballo, passed away suddenly in Miami, a victim of blood complications. She was 85 years old.

''Cuquita'' was born in La Habana and from an early age showed her theatrical qualities performing in the Santos y Artigas circus. She continued her artistic career in movies, theaters, and ''cabarets'' such as Mambú and El Sierra, and frequently appeared on the CMQ television station, on the well-known program Cabaret Regalías''.

During World War II, the successful artist was decorated by the U.S. government for her talent and contribution to entertaining military troops at the Biltmore hospital, nowadays converted into the famous hotel in Coral Gables.

Later, she expanded her career to South America, becoming popular as a vedette and actress in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Brazil. Among her best-known films are: Carnaval no Fogo (1949), Aviso AOS Navegantes (1950), Pasaportes para un Angel (1952), Carnaval Atlántida (1952), and Bernabé Tu Es Meu (1952).

In Brazil, she also distinguished herself as a singer and was so admired that a street in Rio de Janeiro bears her name, but she never forgot her roots and, in 1954, returned to Cuba to continue her fruitful career.

In 1959, she settled in New York in the company of her husband and daughter. Five years later, she moved to Miami where she lived the rest of her life, now withdrawn from the entertainment world.

''When I think of her, what comes to mind are three words: loving, dedicated, and charismatic'', said her daughter Victoria De Luca. ``I know we will all miss her, but I have the satisfaction that she lived fully and did everything she wanted and set out to do, and devoted herself with dedication to her family''.

''Cuquita'' is survived by her husband Osvaldo Cortes, her daughter and son-in-law Victoria and Dennis De Luca, her granddaughters Estela, Cristina, and Sara, and her great-granddaughter Victoria.