Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra (1946)

After a career on the stage and in movies, Desi Arnaz is introduced in this short as an orchestra leader. The setting and songs appear to present Desi as being from Mexico rather than Cuba.

Director: Jack Scholl
Stars: Desi Arnaz, Amanda Lane, Searles & Galian & Knox Manning ... Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

"Babalú" is a Cuban popular afro song written by Margarita Lecuona,The song title is a reference to the Santería deity Babalú Ayé.

The song was first published in the United States in 1939 by Peer International. The first publication with an English translation (by Sydney King Russell) was in 1941. (See the original Soundies on this channel.)

"Babalú" was the signature song of the fictional television character Ricky Ricardo, played by Desi Arnaz in the television comedy series "I Love Lucy," though it was already an established musical number for Arnaz in the 1940s as evidenced in this 1946 film short "Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra." By the time Arnaz had adopted the song, it had become a Latin American music standard. He made the song a rather popular cultural reference in the United States.

Whenever Arnaz and his band played the song live, he would finish it with an extended conga solo and chorus-refrain section, mimicking Cuban comparsas (a popular genre usually associated with the city of Santiago de Cuba).

In Hanna-Barbera's "Quick Draw McGraw", The title character's Mexican burro sidekick, who was based on Desi Arnaz, was named Baba Looey in a nod to the song.

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