Charo (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza de Rasten (born March 13, 1941, claims 1951) better known in the Spanish-language and Hollywood show business as Charo, is a singer, dancer, comedienne, actress and classical guitar player. She is known for her flamboyant stage presence and provocative outfits. Her trademark phrase is "Cuchi-Cuchi".

Date of birth

Charo was born in Murcia, Spain. The exact date of her birth remains somewhat disputed. She insists on 1951 as the year of her birth.

Charo long maintained that her stated date of birth was incorrect due to a "clerical error". Official documents in Spain and the United States maintained she was born in 1941, but Charo argues she is actually younger. In 1977 a United States court ruled that she was born in 1951. Some dispute this claim, as she would have been 15 in 1966 when she married Xavier Cugat (see below).

Biography

Charo is the daughter of a lawyer, who reportedly fled to Casablanca during Francisco Franco's dictatorship while her homemaker mother stayed behind in Murcia raising their children. She studied classical and flamenco guitar while residing in Murcia, and can claim Andrés Segovia as her guitar teacher (Segovia taught general music classes as community service in schools around Murcia). She took guitar lessons from him and other teachers from the age of nine on. As a result of her training and skill she has been named "Best Flamenco Guitarist" in Guitar Player Magazine's readers' poll twice. One of Charo's regrets is that because of her flamboyant stage presence, she has been overlooked as a serious guitar player.

When Charo was quite young, she was "discovered" by famous bandleader Xavier Cugat (reportedly as a bit player at an airing of "Barrio Sésamo", the Spanish version of Sesame Street, a fact that is chronologically incorrect since the series started in the United States a few years later), whom she later "wed" on August 7, 1966, at the reported age of 15 (or 25 if she was born in 1941 as the documents said); Cugat was 66 and had married four times before then. The couple were the first to have their nuptials in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

At a newspaper interview with the Los Angeles-based Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión in February 2005, Charo claimed that her marriage to Cugat was merely a "business contract", a way for him to legally bring her over to the United States, where he was based. She moved to 257th street in New York City along with her mother and aunt, and was regularly featured in shows with Cugat's orchestra, in both New York and Las Vegas. She claims he was confident in her eventual success from early on, and that she gave him a Rolls Royce as a parting gift once she came of legal age.

She was headlining Vegas shows by 1971, and reportedly being paid as much as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles or Dean Martin. In 1977, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

On August 11, 1978 she re-married, this time to her manager Kjell Rasten, in Lake Tahoe.

During much of the late 1980s to late 1990s Charo had limited visibility as she moved to Hawaii, and opened and performed at her own dinner theater while she and Rasten raised their son.

She now has a regular touring show in addition to appearances in Las Vegas shows regularly (which at one time were choreographed by Comedy Central actor/dancer Jade Esteban Estrada). She also donates her talents to Jerry Lewis's annual MDA telethon.

Discography

Cuchi-Cuchi (1977)
Olé Olé (1978)
Mamacita, ¿dónde está Santa Claus? (Mommy, Where's Santa Claus?, 1978, single)
Bailando con Charo (Dancing with Charo, 1981)
Guitar Passion (1994)
Blame It on the Macarena (1996)
Gusto (Pleasure, 1997)
Charo and Guitar (2005)

Her first four albums were made with the Salsoul Orchestra.

Filmography

Tiger by the Tail (1968)
Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) (documentary)
The Concorde: Airport '79 (1979)
Moon Over Parador (1988)
Thumbelina (1994) (voice)

TV Work

The Hollywood Squares (semi-regular panelist from 1972-1978)
The Charo Show (1976) (unsold pilot for variety series)
Chico and the Man (cast member from 1977-1978)
The Love Boat (guest starred in 8 episodes, 1977-1984)
The Facts of Life (guest appearance in 1985)
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (guest star 1988)
That '70s Show (special guest star: "Red Sees Red," 2000)
The Surreal Life (cast member in 2004)
So NoTORIous (episode 5, season 1 in 2006)
I Love the 70s Volume 2 (appearances in 2006)
Chappelle's Show (appearance in 2006)
Sprint Cellular Phones featuring the catch phrase "I thought you said bring home Charo"

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