Carmen Miranda was not from the Philippines, it turns out. Here’s how this vital fact came to light. The following quote is from the Thai Visa website, about foreign English language teachers:

“Good idea, lots of Philippine English teachers about, some are pretty good but some have a proper Philippine accent and I don’t want my kids sounding like Carman Miranda when they speak English.”

Carmen Miranda, a Philippina? I had to look it up. No. She was from Portugal. Brilliant, no really, the Philippines was a very close guess. People confuse it with Portugal all the time.