Connecting Dots: Bali – Peggy Lee – Margarita Cocktails – 4th of July 2026 – Rosalita’s Cantina

Bali Update and Bali Discovery present a “fractured history lesson” by connecting the following dots:

The Island of Bali
Legendary US Jazz Singer Peggy Lee
A famous Bar and Restaurant in Galveston, Texas named after Bali.
The Margarita Cocktail
America’s 250th Anniversary Celebration in Bali

This tale is prompted by our profound fondness for the world-renowned Margarita Cocktail – a delicious combination of tequila, triple sec, lime juice (and occasionally simple syrup) – served in salt-rimmed glasses straight up, on the rocks, or as a frozen frappe capable of precipitating painful bouts of “brain freeze”

The Balinese Room

But, perhaps we digress? The background to this historical tale is The Balinese Room – a famous nightclub located at the end of a 600-foot (183-meter) long pier stretching into the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas. Destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008. Operated for a time as a dance hall and illegal casino, The Balinese Room, in various incarnations, featured headliners in the 1930s and 1940s, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, George Burns, and the Marx Brothers. The Bar also had a distinguished list of patrons, such as Howard Hughes and wealthy oil barons from nearby Houston.

Now on Stage: Peggy Lee

The Balinese Room’s head bartender was a man named Santos Cruz, who claimed he “invented” the Margarita for the legendary singer Peggy Lee in 1948 and named the drink after the Spanish version of her name, Margarita.

**Bartender – Santos Cruz, Inventor of the Margarita**

Santos once described the Margarita as a “Sidecar made with tequila instead of Cognac.”

Like the singing star Ms. Lee, the drink gained international fame. Among the many “creation myths” associated with the drink is that of an Iowa newspaper editor who claimed he discovered the drink in Tijuana in 1936, another tale from Tijuana in 1938, where the Rancho La Gloria Restaurant concocted the drink in honor of actress Marjorie King, who claimed she couldn’t drink anything but tequila and named it the “Margarita,” inspired by Marjorie.

In the 1950s, Esquire Magazine named the Margarita its “drink of the month,” securing its immortality in the annals of mixology. By the 1970s, the drink’s original recipe had evolved into “Frozen Margaritas” presented in various fruit flavors, making it one of the world’s most iconic drinks.

Adding further credibility to the linkage associated with The Balinese Room, Peggy Lee, and the cocktail Margarita is the fact that Peggy Lee recorded the novelty hit single “Mañana” in 1948. Sang in a faux Mexican accent. Peggy reportedly wrote the song with her then-husband, Dave Barbour, in Ensenada, Mexico. It was also about this time that Barbour underwent life-threatening surgery supposedly brought on by heavy drinking and a personal preference for tequila.

It was also about this time (1949) that Peggy recorded the hit record “Bali Ha’i” – adding another Bali dot to connect on this historical musical matrix,

Peggy Lee died in 2002 at age 82, and The Balinese Room was destroyed by a hurricane in 2008. Nathan Cruz, the grandson of the legendary bartender Santos Cruz, adamantly insists his grandpa was inspired by Peggy Lee to invent the Margarita, which millions around the globe love and sip daily.

So we rest our case by linking the dots, connecting our favorite drink, the Margarita, to a bar named after Bali in Texas, and to jazz singer Peggy Lee. And, given our fan-level partiality for Peggy Lee and love of Bali and tequila – we’re sticking steadfastly with these sticky dots.

**Ms. Peggy Lee – But, you can call me Margarita!**

An Invitation for the 4th of July in Bali at Rosalita’s Cantina

If you’d like to continue this lively debate concerning the historical origins of the Margarita, we consider joining a celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the USA at Rosalita’s Cantina – a Tex-Mex Bar and Restaurant at Seminyak Square in Bali. There’s a special price offer on Margaritas, cold Bintang Beer, cheeseburgers, and American apple pie available from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm.

Come along and raise a tequila toast to the lady who has given us all “Fever” – Ms. Peggy Lee – and to a great land only to be made better – the USA!