Bandana Shirt worn by Diosa Costello: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Red sleeveless bandana print top worn by Diosa Costello. The top, tied at the waist, was worn by Costello with a pair of white satin “sailor" pants in as a costume in her nightclub act.

Diosa Costello (1913-2013) was an actress, singer, and dancer, who claimed to be “the first Latina on Broadway” in a historically significant career on stage and screen. Born Juana de Dios Castrello y Cruz in Guayama, Puerto Rico, she first began performing in the chorus at the Teatro San Jose after moving with her family to New York as a child. Taking the stage name Diosa Costello, she earned fame and fans dancing and singing in clubs and theaters in Spanish Harlem. Billed as “The Latin Bombshell,” she was booked at the La Conga Club alongside Cuban newcomer Desi Arnaz in the late 1930s. The duo worked well together, Desi leading the band with his conga drum while Diosa danced and both performers cracked jokes and interacted with the audience. They were cast as leads in the Rodgers and Hart musical Too Many Girls, which opened at the Imperial Theatre in 1939. The popular show was adapted as a 1940 RKO Radio Pictures film starring Arnaz, Lucille Ball, and Eddie Bracken, but Ann Miller appeared in the role Costello played on Broadway. Costello made her film debut in 1941’s They Met In Argentina, performing alongside Maureen O’Hara and Buddy Ebsen, and appeared in the final American Laurel and Hardy film The Bullfighters (1945) as well as the 1953 3-D musical Miss Sadie Thompson. In 1950, she landed the biggest theatrical role of her career, cast as Bloody Mary in the original touring company of the hit musical South Pacific. After touring for a year, she was tapped to replace Juanita Hall, who originated the role, in the original production at Broadway’s Belasco Theatre. She performed there for another seven months, through early 1952, and for years afterward included her numbers from the show - particularly "Happy Talk" and "Bali Hai" - in her nightclub act. In later years, Costello performed at nightclubs in New York City, at resorts in the Catskills and Miami Beach, and in Las Vegas.

Materials, dates and provenance

• wearer: Costello, Diosa
• Object Name: shirt
• Physical Description: cotton (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 14 in x 17 in; 35.56 cm x 43.18 cm
• Subject: Theater
• Subject: Latino
• ID Number: 2011.0208.05
• accession number: 2011.0208
• catalog number: 2011.0208.05
• Credit Line: Gift of Diosa Costello
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.