page_title: Charo
section_title: 2000s
hierarchical_section_title: Charo / Career / 2000s
caption_attribution_description: Charo performing in her third outfit at the 2004 Dutchess County Fair
context_page_description: Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish American actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist.
  Charo began playing guitar at the age of 9 and trained under the famed Andrés Segovia. In 1966 she married bandleader Xavier Cugat and they moved to the United States. 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 uninhibited and exuberant manner, vague age, ostensible lack of fluency in English, heavy Spanish accent, and the catch-phrase "cuchi-cuchi."
  As a musician, she 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. In 1995 her flamenco album Guitar Passion won the Female Pop Album of the Year award at the Billboard International Latin Music Conference and was named best female Latin pop album by Billboard. In an interview Charo said, "Around the world I am known as a great musician.
context_section_description: In the 2000s Charo appeared in television in commercials for Sprint wireless phone service and GEICO insurance, as well as guest appearances on Hollywood Squares, a season-three stint on the celeb-reality series The Surreal Life, portraying herself on an episode of Fox Network's That '70s Show, and appearances in VH1's I Love the '70s retrospectives. On May 11, 2008, she made a guest appearance on the Latin-themed VH1 reality show Viva Hollywood.
  She was named Best Flamenco Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine's readers' poll twice.
  Charo has a regular touring show in addition to appearances in Branson, Missouri, and Las Vegas (which at one time were choreographed by Comedy Central actor/dancer Jade Esteban Estrada). She appeared as the Celebrity Showtime entertainer aboard Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas on its January 4 and January 13, 2008, sailings, and on the Adventure of the Seas on its August 10, 2008, sailing. She was a Celebrity Grand Marshal of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade on Sunday, June 29, 2008. She was accompanied by hordes of Charo lookalikes on a pink float. On May 23, 2008, she was a guest on GSN Live.
  Charo returned to the dance music scene in June 2008 with the single "España Cañi," which was released through Universal Wave Records.
  In April 2010 Charo made a guest appearance on Dancing with the Stars. She made an appearance on Watch What Happens: Live on February 22, 2011, where she promoted a new song, "Sexy! Sexy!" In July 2011 Charo appeared as a celebrity guest judge on the fifth episode of RuPaul's Drag U, Season 2. In May 2013 she appeared on the final episode of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. In June 2015 she appeared in an episode of Celebrity Wife Swap, where she swapped with former Love Boat costar, Jill Whelan. The show prominently featured her husband–manager, Kjell Rasten, and her sister, Carmen, who served as Charo's stylist.
  On March 1, 2017, Charo was revealed as one of the contestants who would compete on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Keo Motsepe. On April 3, 2017, Charo and Motsepe were the second couple eliminated from the competition and finished in 11th place.
caption: Charo performing in 2004
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