Charo. Yeah, THAT Charo. Love Boat Charo. Cuchi Cuchi Charo.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Birth name
María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza
Nickname
The Cuchi Cuchi Girl
Spouse
Kjell Rasten (1978 - present) 1 child
Xavier Cugat (7 August 1966 - 1978) (divorced)
Trade mark

Shake of the hips accompanied by a squealed "cuchi-cuchi!"
Trivia

Her father was a lawyer who was exiled to Casablanca during the Franco dictatorship, returning only when Franco died.

Her mother was a homemaker.

She attended the Catholic convent of the Sacred Heart, where she began playing guitar at age 9.

Received the Distinguished Career Award from Hispanic Exhibitor and Distributor.

Fluent in Spanish (native language), English, French, Italian, and Japanese.

Was winner of 'Guitar magazine''s Readers Poll as Best Flamenco Guitarist two years in a row.

Her trademark "cuchi, cuchi" comes from her nickname for her dog, Cuchillo (Spanish for "knife"): "When Cuchillo was happy he wiggled. I copied him and I used to say 'como Cuchi, como Cuchi'. Everybody thought that it was very cute when I wiggled and say cuchi-cuchi, and they give me cookies and candy. Now, every time I say cuchi-cuchi, people give me money."

When she was 14, she won a scholarship to study classical guitar with Andres Segovia.

Her son Shel is a philosophy major at the University of Southern California.

Became a U.S. citizen in 1977.

Cugat brought the then 16 year old Charo and her mother and sister to America on a student visa after he discovered her, but she had to return to Spain and wait two years to come back because she was a minor.

Married Xavier Cugat at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

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 argued she was actually younger. In 1977 she went to court, and was able to successfully convince the judge to rule that she was born in 1951. This would have made her 15 at the time of her marriage, and the legitimacy of this date is widely questioned.

Personal quotes

"If you believe in what you do, you are immortal. The day that you don't believe it, the day you're taking other people's opinion, you better go to Tijuana."

"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."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004819/bio

[XanaDUer]

1. She's a world-class guitarist.

...

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Did you see VH1's "The Surreal World?"

In one episode she took them to a club to hear her performance. She definitely knows how to play that guitar.

:toast:

[XanaDUer]

6. No, I missed that.

She is great, though.

[bucknaked]

9. Yes, she is!

I first remember her as a kid, from either the Loveboat or Fantasy Island, then she caught my eye in reruns during my pre-teen years/puberty years. lol!

Anyway, flash-forward to a few years ago, I started getting into flamenco guitarists, myself (artists like Strunz and Farah, Ottmar Liebert, Jesse Cook, etc). Then, I got into the more specialized (less-commercially popular) artists, and heard her work, and was blown away!

[swimmernsecretsea]

2. She just played here!

Some of the reporters in my building were talking about her. Said she played a mean classical guitar. How funny.

[Der Blaue Engel]

4. Playing tonight at Trannyshack in SF!

:D

[no name no slogan]

8. GO SEE HER

she is an amazing flamenco guitarist, in a field which is notoriously patriarchal and chauvanistic.

she rocks the hizzle, fo shizzle! :7

[Der Blaue Engel]

12. I wanted to, but I'm just exhausted

A friend I work with is there, however, and he'll tell me all about it tomorrow. :)

[swimmernsecretsea]

10. Aw how funny!

That'd be cool! Who could tell if she mingled with the crowd! I should call up friends and ask if they wanna go.

[ClintonTyree]

5. Not that it matters.........

but she's quite a bit older than 53. Here's to her :toast: She's a wonderous talent and one hell of a "Cuchi Cuchi"! ;)

[Dogmudgeon]

7. She could out-play Ed Van Halen

I don't know how America missed her guitar performances, but oh-my-freakin'-GOD can she play guitar!

On a TV show long ago -- I think it was the old Mike Douglas show -- I heard her progressively play a song in a faster and faster tempo, then shift to 8 to the bar -- then to an awesome 16 to the bar, which she maintained for several bars. The last time I checked, only "Eddie Van" could do that for more than a bar or two.

She is easily on a par with all but the very top echelon of rock and roll guitarists -- people like Van Halen, Clapton, and Hendrix really only have creativity over Charo. It is a shame none of the rock or blues guitar giants ever sought her out. She coulda advanced classical/acoustic guitar by decades.

--p!

[DS1]

11. Text placement is purely accidental. I repeat, text placement is purely

accidental.

[Swede]

13. The girl can play a guitar!

I think she deserves more fame and fortune.

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. Wow - I never knew she studied with Segovia! You don't study with Segovia

unless you're REALLY good already.