I remember seeing Charo frequently on The Tonight Show in the 1970s. Was that her real name, and what's she doing these days?
—Barbara M., Baker City, Ore.
Charo, whose real name is Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, was born in Murcia, Spain. She learned to play classical and flamenco guitar in her early teens and came to the United States as part of famed Latin maestro Xavier Cugat's orchestra. Eventually performing solo under her nickname of Charo, she became a headliner in Las Vegas, a hit recording artist and a familiar fixture on talk and variety programs, including The Tonight Show, where she appeared more than 45 times. Her new CD, Charo and Guitar, finds her returning to her roots and applying her string-strumming talent to a collection of classical and contemporary guitar tunes.
