About Charo
María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-born actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist who rose to international prominence in the 1960s on American television, as well as starring in several films.
Charo began playing classical guitar at the age of nine, training under the famed guitarist Andrés Segovia. In 1966, she married 66-year-old bandleader Xavier Cugat and moved to the United States with him. In the late 1960s and 1970s, she became a ubiquitous presence on American television, frequently appearing as a guest star on series such as Laugh-In, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She is known for her uninhibited and exuberant manner, high energy levels, vague age, heavy Spanish accent, and catchphrase "cuchi-cuchi". She frequently pokes fun at herself, while also pointing out the potential judgment of others, through her accent.
As a musician, Charo has performed and recorded in various styles for five decades. She released a series of disco recordings in the 1970s with Salsoul Records, most notably Dance a Little Bit Closer . In 1995 her flamenco album Guitar Passion was awarded Female Pop Album of the Year at the Billboard International Latin Music Conference, and was named Best Female Latin Pop Album by Billboard Magazine. In an interview, Charo has said, "Around the world I am known as a great musician. But in America I am known as the cuchi-cuchi girl. That's okay, because cuchi-cuchi has taken me all the way to the bank."
Charo was born in the city of Murcia, Spain. Her birth date has been a matter of some dispute . Her Spanish passport gives her name as María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza.
Charo has claimed she was enrolled in a convent school until the age of 15, when a nun told her that she belonged in show business. In the most colorful version of her childhood, Charo's grandmother hired a music professor to give her weekly classical guitar lessons, and he became the first man to enter the convent.
In a 2005 interview, she reminisced:
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