Diosa Costello

Juana de Dios Castrello y Cruz, known professionally as Diosa Costello, was born on April 23, 1913, in Guayama, Puerto Rico, though 1917 is frequently cited in error. She died on June 20, 2013, in Hollywood, Florida, at the age of 100. A Puerto Rican entertainer, producer, and club owner, Costello built a career spanning Broadway, film, television, and nightclub performance, and became known by the nickname "the Latin Bombshell."

Costello's ambitions in show business emerged in childhood despite her parents' opposition, rooted in the reputation the entertainment industry carried at the time. She began dancing and performing early, and also developed skills in contortion. After earning a small sum from a military audience, her parents confiscated the money. Her mother eventually placed her in an orphanage for children born to single mothers. When her family relocated to Harlem, Costello was enrolled in school at age 12, but she simultaneously began working covertly in a Latin theatre without her mother's knowledge. She went on to perform at venues throughout Spanish Harlem, including the Copacabana Club, before pairing with Desi Arnaz at the La Conga club.

Costello made her Broadway debut in the 1939 musical Too Many Girls, directed by George Abbott. She is sometimes described as the first Latina to appear on Broadway, though this is inaccurate, as Lupe Vélez had accumulated three Broadway credits prior to Costello's debut. Costello did, however, become the first Puerto Rican vedette to co-star on Broadway. When Too Many Girls was adapted for film, Costello declined to participate, citing her preference for remaining in New York; her role was subsequently filled by Ann Miller. Costello returned to Broadway in 1941 in the musical revue Crazy With the Heat.

In 1951, Costello replaced Juanita Hall in the role of Bloody Mary in the original Broadway production of South Pacific. She performed in that production for five years, continuing even after sustaining injuries in a train crash while on tour. Her Broadway career extended to 1975 and included an appearance in A Gala Tribute to Joshua Logan. Beyond the stage, she appeared in films including They Met in Argentina (1941), in which she played Panchita, The Bullfighters (1945), in which she played Conchita, and Miss Sadie Thompson (1953), in which she appeared as Ameena Horn. During the 1950s she also recorded material including Eliseo Grenet's El Maraquero and made appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In the 1960s, Costello performed in Puerto Rico and worked in the Puerto Rican television industry before stepping back from public life. She married director Jacinto Campos, with whom she performed in Florida and at the Hollywood Trocadero before the marriage ended in divorce. She later married Don Casino in 1958, and the two worked together as hosts and croupiers in Las Vegas following her retirement. Costello eventually relocated to Florida. In 2006, the Smithsonian filmed an interview with her, and its Center for Latinos Initiative accepted donated items from her career for curation and exhibition. That same year she attended the funeral of her niece, actress Anna Navarro. Costello died in her sleep on June 20, 2013.