Charo Baeza, born in the Murcian town of Molina de Segura, went to Hollywood at a very young age with her manager and husband at the time, musician Xavier Cugat, and managed to succeed there. She never got the attention she deserves in her native land, here she is almost unknown, but across the pond she has become a popular culture icon for her histrionic appearances on television. in the 70s and 80s and its famous musical shows. In Las Vegas.
In the United States they love it, and even The New York Times gave “Thank heaven for Charo”, thus giving the title to a long report on her published in 2019. The artist, virtuoso of the Spanish guitar and exuberant beauty proto-Obregón, is now 71 years old according to his official date of birth . His year of birth has always been a controversial issue due to contradictions in his own public statements and for leading a US judge in 1977 to recognize an administrative error in his Spanish birth certificate and subtract 10 years from his legal age.
Promotional image by artist Charo.
The mistake about her age that Charo defended and the US court approved in 1977 builds the story that she married Xavier Cugat in 1966 when she was 15 and he was 66. Years Later Later, Charo said the marriage was just a contract for companies to allow a minor to perform in nightclubs. She also cited other years as her date of birth, 1947 and 1949. But the controversy is still latent, since she looked like a woman dressed in these tight outfits during her first steps on American television in the 60s, of which few remains remain. .. on the Internet apart from the one she shares herself.
The artist Charo in one of his Instagram images.
Dance dates aside, Charo continues to be an inspiration to many. Its particular stamp is formed by a suggestive presence and the self-confidence typical of southern Spain, which this artist materialized in the expression “cuchi, cuchi”, a charge that she has been repeating for decades. Charo brought flamenco to Las Vegas but soon merged with the variety show and found a niche on television, collaborating with stars like Cher, Sonny Bono or the character Pee-wee Herman, among many others who have already been forgotten.
The artist Charo in image on his Instagram.
The fame of the Murcian is so great in the United States that it even appeared as a cartoon in the 13th season of The simpsonsbeing one of the few Spaniards to have achieved this consideration along with Javier Bardem, Plácido Domingo or Ferrán Adriá.
“My name is Charo and I move my maracas,” her character says during her brief appearance on “The Simpsons.”
Currently, the Murcian shares much of her day-to-day on Instagram, where she delights her followers with Spanish-style tips on household items, Spanish food recipes or aerobic exercises. In recent years, he has participated and made cameos in several television programs such as Dancing with the stars, RuPaul Drag Race oh Apartment 23.
The drama that marked his last years
The singer and actress’ husband, Kjell Rasten, died aged 79 in February 2019 from a self-inflicted gunshot at the Beverly Hills home they had shared for decades. The couple, who met while working in television in the 1970s, married in 1978, the same year they divorced Xavier Cugat, and from that second marriage their only son, actor Shel Rasten , was born.
Charo was in another room of the house at the time of the fatal gunshot that ended her husband’s life. As the artist revealed after the suicide on his Instagram, Rasten suffered from “a rare and horrific skin condition called bullous pemphigoid.” In this farewell on the networks, the artist called Rasten “the love of my life”.