Charo's Bio

Born María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza in Murcia, in southeastern Spain, she's known around the world simply as “Charo.” But she’s much more than just “cuchi cuchi.” Charo is a singer, dancer, comedian, actress, and accomplished classical and flamenco guitarist. A guitar protégé at the age of 9, Charo studied with Andres Segovia, the father of modern classical guitar music. She has twice been named the "Best Flamenco Guitarist in the World" by Guitar Player Magazine, and her flamenco-inspired CD, "Guitar Passion," went platinum and earned her the "Female Pop Album of the Year Award" at the 1995 Billboard International Latin Music Conference.

Charo made countless appearances on numerous TV shows in the 60’s and 70’s. She holds the record for the most “Love Boat” appearances (21 to be exact); played Aunt Charo on the sitcom “Chico and the Man; appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “Laugh-In,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Sonny and Cher Show,” “The Brady Bunch Hour,” and on talk shows such as “Johnny Carson” and “The Merv Griffin Show.” Charo continued to guest star on numerous TV shows throughout the 80’s and 90’s; she has been a regular on Hollywood Squares and has recently appeared on ”That 70’s Show” and the reality TV show, "The Surreal Life."

Charo has also acted in several films including “Elvis: That’s The Way It Is,” ”The Concorde - Airport '79” and “Moon Over Parador,” and provided the voice to a character in the 1994 animated film “Thumbelina.” In 1996, Charo released "Blame It On The Macarena, " an instructional dance video shot in South Beach, Florida.

Her trademarked "cuchi, cuchi" comes from her nickname for her childhood dog. Charo says: "I was 3 years old, and I had a dog called “Cuchillo” (Spanish for “knife”), and when Cuchillo was happy, he wiggled. When I was very young I copied him, and I used to say 'como Cuchi, como Cuchi' - like Cuchi, like Cuchi. Everybody thought that it was very cute when I wiggled and said ‘cuchi-cuchi,’ and they gave me cookies and candy. Now, every time I say ‘cuchi-cuchi,’ people give me money."

As a teenager in Spain, Charo became a recording artist, appeared in the Spanish film classic "Don Juan Tenorio," and was featured in a children’s TV show that brought her to the attention of famed Big Band leader Xavier Cugat. She later joined Cugat’s band (and married him) and traveled to Las Vegas where the band played in major casinos including Caesar’s Palace, The Flamingo, and The Tropicana.

Soon Charo was performing as a solo artist in Las Vegas, sharing the stage with the likes of Johnny Carson, Danny Thomas, Buddy Hackett, Jim Nabors, and George Burns.

During this time, she recorded her hit disco albums “La Salsa” and “Flamenco Salsa” on Capitol Records. Her first US album “Cuchi-Cuchi” from “Charo & The Salsoul Orchestra,” on Salsoul Records (a one-time leader in Latin disco) went platinum and became a hit in nightclubs worldwide. Her follow-up album “Olé, Olé” contained the single “Stay With Me” and became an international hit achieving Gold status. With her international hit “Dance A Little Bit Closer” in 1978, Charo created and established a new bilingual salsa style. This new “Charo rhythm” has since been emulated by many other Latin and American performers.

In the late 70s, Charo married Swedish-born businessman, Kjell Rasten, and in the mid-80’s moved to Kauai where they opened a restaurant called Charo’s. While in Hawaii, Charo entertained at clubs around the islands and raised their son. In 1997, a few years after the success of her platinum CD “Guitar Passion,” Charo released her follow-up CD "Gusto," which was her first dance album since the 70’s. This highly acclaimed CD includes the hits “Give Me Cuchi” and a remake of "Besame Mucho.”

In the summer of 2000, after the graduation of her son, Charo felt it was time to return to mainstream show production and began performing highly successful extended runs in Las Vegas. Her show “Bravo,” named The “Best Variety Show in Las Vegas” by Time Magazine, opened in the Venetian Hotel and Casino in 2001 and continued at the Sevilla. The self-produced show enjoyed two years of unprecedented reviews and standing ovations every night. Many critics hailed Charo’s return to Las Vegas as “the best show of her career.”

Charo and Her Las Vegas Show returns to The Herbst Theatre in San Francisco following her 2005 sold-out Herbst show! The show will be a combination of a Las Vegas show complete with a back-up band and Las Vegas dancers AND Charo taking to the stage for a kick ass solo Flamenco guitar performance. Get ready to sizzle!

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Show Producer

LISA GEDULDIG is a San Francisco-based comedy producer, stand-up comic, and bilingual arts publicist. She is the creator, producer, and MC of a variety of large-scale comedy productions including Kung Pao Kosher Comedy (now in its 16th year this December); Funny Girlz: A Smorgasbord of Women Comedians (celebrating its 10th Anniversary this May); The (5th & FINAL) George Bush Going Away Party: An Evening of Political Comedy (this October). Lisa is honored and thrilled to be bringing the talented Charo BACK to entertain San Francisco audiences this summer.

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