SHE’S A LATIN FROM MANHATTAN by Al Jolson,  ( From the film: “Go into Your Dance”, 1935)

This song operates on a couple of levels: there is the theme of authenticity - someone pretending to be something they’re not, and then there is the encoded message of theatrical professionalism - a portrait of a denizen of Broadway, that golden place where exotic dreams become real, a meritocracy wherein an excellent performer can circumvent a dubious background and a lack of privilege.

Hearing this tune as a small child I intuited these fancies, and, like Pinocchio, they lured me into a life of Papier-Mache. But, hey, I’m not quibbling - I made it to The Great White Way - TWICE!  

I was always happier pretending to be someone other than myself, and Jolson was the Hebraic pathfinder. The mask of “blackface” allowed Asa Yolson to hitch his Star of David to the soulful vehicle of another victim of oppression, the African-American, and ride it out of the slums, and straight towards the brass ring. 

This song communicates joy at every level: Jolie’s buoyant vocal as he uncovers Dolores’s masquerade, the bouncy patter of Al Dubin’s lyric, and Harry Warren’s infectious latin rhythms all aim to elicit a smile as you contemplate that “42 Streeter,” Susie Donahue’s magic trick of erotic transformation.