Charo

Spanish spitfire Charo stands out immediately thanks to her voluminous blonde hair, skin-tight outfits that accentuate every curve of her figure, and her signature exclamation “coochie, coochie,” an exclamation she cheerfully concedes carries no literal meaning yet delivers in a pronounced Castilian accent. Although she cultivates the persona of an airhead, her abilities extend far beyond appearance: she excels as a comedienne committed to family-appropriate entertainment and commands respect as a guitarist and vocalist rooted in Spanish traditions. Onstage she deliberately fractures English, yet she reads and writes the language with ease while also speaking Japanese and French fluently.

During childhood she trained on guitar with Andres Segovia. Relocating to the United States during the 1970s, she wed the considerably older bandleader Xavier Cugat. Frequent guest spots on talk shows, nightclub engagements, and occasional acting roles—including appearances on Fantasy Island—followed. Her greatest visibility came through headlining runs in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, yet after welcoming a son in the early 1980s she relocated to Hawaii with her second husband. While child-rearing occupied much of the ensuing decade, she maintained a steady schedule at Honolulu’s Polynesian Palace and still undertakes occasional mainland tours. In 1994 she issued her debut Latino recording, Guitar Passion, performing and singing flamenco-infused pop numbers; despite scant radio exposure the album lingered on the Billboard charts for several months.