Charo

When Charo was quite young, she was discovered by famous musician Xavier Cugat, whom she later married on August 7, 1966, at the reported age of 15; Cugat was 66.

The couple were the first to have their nuptials in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

In 1977, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

On August 11, 1978 she re-married, this time to her manager Kjell Rasten, in Lake Tahoe. In 1982 she bore her only child, a son, Shel Rasten (who is a drummer with the metal band Treazen) and decided to move to Hawaii, where she regularly performed at the Outrigger Hotel and waited on customers at her restaurant on the island of Kauai.

Charo waited for her son to grow up before returning to Los Angeles to get back into show business full time.

Charo studied classical and flamenco guitar while residing in Murcia. As a result of her training and skill she has been named "Best Flamenco Guitarist" in Guitar Player Magazine's readers' poll. She now has a regular touring show in addition to appearances in Las Vegas shows regularly. One of Charo's regrets is that, because of her flamboyant stage presence, she has been overlooked as a guitar player.

She also donates her talents to Jerry Lewis' annual MDA telethon.