[3] Graciela was the lead vocalist over a period of 10 years in the 1930s and '40s with Orquesta Anacaona, an all-female ensemble, before leaving Cuba for the United States.

She performed around the world, recording and sharing the stage with her adoptive older brother, Frank Grillo (known as Machito), who encouraged her to sing.

For thirty-two years, they traveled the United States and the rest of the world and performed at the Palladium Ballroom from 1946 until its closing in 1966.

Graciela and the band were also a favorite of the disc jockey Symphony Sid Torin who had them on his weekly program several times a year.

[4] In 2006, she was honored with the Latin Jazz USA Chico O'Farrill Lifetime Achievement Award.