Charo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charo
Charo at the 2013 Alma Awards
Born	Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza (See DOB Section) Murcia, Region of Murcia, Spain
Occupation	Actress, singer, classical guitarist, comedian
Years active	1963–present
Spouse(s)	Xavier Cugat ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1978)​ Kjell Rasten ​ ​ (m. 1978; died 2019)​
Children	1

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 (Spanish-style) 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 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 (1977). In 1995 her flamenco album Guitar Passion (1994) 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."

Early life

Charo was born in the city of Murcia, Spain. Her birth date has been a matter of some dispute (see 'Birth year controversy' below). 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:

"The institution had great young teachers and students. Everything was a charity. Mr. Segovia, between concerts that's when he'd come, and if you'd been there a year and you weren't good, you'd go out and they would give your place to another young kid."

Charo has stated in several interviews that she graduated with honors at age 16.

Bandleader Xavier Cugat "discovered" her while in Spain filming a television special in 1964. They wed on August 7, 1966.

They were the first couple to be wed at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Charo later claimed that her marriage to Cugat was merely a business contract, a way for him to legally bring her to the United States.

Career

Charo was highly visible throughout the 1970s, appearing eight times on The Love Boat, and on variety and talk shows such as Donny & Marie, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Captain and Tennille, The John Davidson Show, The Mike Douglas Show (which she guest-hosted at least once) and the short-lived The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

In 1975, Dallas Morning News critic Harry Bowman wrote that the ABC network had "penciled in . . . a half-hour comedy starring the uninhibited wife of Xavier Cugat" and commented, "This is probably the worst idea of the season." By October of that year, Charo was promoting a TV special slated for November, but it did not actually appear until May 1976.

By the late 1970s, Charo was being mentioned as an example of how overexposure could damage a celebrity. One such article quoted the "Q score" of Performer Q, Steve Levitt's celebrity popularity rating service, to show that her popularity declined slightly even as her familiarity increased:

Before she gained national fame on talk shows in 1975, bosomy Latina starlet Charo was 'recognized' by 57 percent of Levitt's national television sample and had a 'popularity quotient' of 9 percent. Today, known by 80 percent, a figure as high as Clint Eastwood's 80 percent, Charo's popularity is 8 percent. 'If she was known by 100 percent of the world, chances are her popularity might go down to 7 or 6 percent,' Levitt says coolly. That paradox makes some performers think twice when invitations to talk shows come in.

Charo performing in 2004

She was named Best Flamenco Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's readers' poll twice.

Charo returned to the dance-music scene in June 2008 with the single "España Cañi," which was released through Universal Wave Records.

On March 1, 2017, Charo was revealed a contestant for Season 24 of Dancing with the Stars, paired with professional dancer Keo Motsepe. On April 3, 2017, they were the second couple eliminated from the competition and finished in 11th place.

Personal life

In 1977, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States. That year, she filed for divorce from Cugat, which was granted on April 14, 1978.

On August 11, 1978, she married her second husband, producer Kjell Rasten, in South Lake Tahoe, California. He soon became her manager. They have one child, son Shel Rasten (born 1981), who is the drummer for the heavy metal band Treazen. He is also an actor and producer, known for The Boulevard (2013), FAMOUS (and on the List) (2010) and CSI: Miami (2002)

They moved to Hawaii, but eventually moved back to Beverly Hills.

Rasten died on February 18, 2019, at the age of 78.

Discography

Albums

• Cuchi-Cuchi (1977) (with the Salsoul Orchestra)
• Olé Olé (1978) (with the Salsoul Orchestra)
• Bailando con Charo (Dancing with Charo, 1981) (with the Salsoul Orchestra)
• Guitar Passion (1994)
• Gusto (Pleasure, 1997)
• Charo and Guitar (2005)

Singles

• 1976: "La Salsa"
• 1977: "Dance a Little Bit Closer" (US Dance #18); UK #44
• 1978: "Mamacita, ¿dónde está Santa Claus? (Mommy, Where's Santa Claus?)"
• 1978: "Olé Olé" (US Dance #36)
• 1979: "Sha Na Na"
• 1979: "Stay with Me" (US Dance #55)
• 1979: "Hot Love"
• 1981: "La Mojada (Wet Back)"
• 2003: "Prisionera De Tu Amor" (with Seductive Souls)
• 2008: "España Cañi" (US Dance #14)
• 2013 "Dance a Little Bit Closer" (Charo & the Salsoul Orchestra vs. the Cube Guys Remix)

Filmography

Television

See also

In Spanish: Charo (cantante) para niños

• List of Spanish Americans
• Mononymous person
• Age fabrication