María Conchita Alonso

María Conchita Alonso
Maria Conchita Alonso
Background information
Birth name	María Concepción Alonso Bustillo
Also known as	Maria Conchita Alonso
Born	June 29, 1957 (1957-06-29) (age 52)
Origin	Cienfuegos, Cuba
Genres	Pop, Hip Hop
Occupations	Singer, Actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1970s-present
Website	Official Website

María Conchita Alonso (born June 29, 1957), better known as María Conchita, is a Grammy Award-nominated Cuban-born Venezuelan singer and actress.

Early life

María Conchita Alonso was born María Concepción Alonso Bustillo in Cienfuegos, Cuba, the daughter of Ricardo Alonso and Maria Conchita Bustillo. The family moved to Venezuela when she was 5 years old, in 1962. She took her first steps in show business when she was crowned Miss Teenager Of The World in 1971, and was Miss World/Venezuela in 1975 where she became 6th runner up in the Miss World pageant won by Puerto Rico's Wilnelia Merced; thereafter she quickly became a top model and a popular singer and actress in Venezuela.

Career

Alonso's first gold album and number one song in the charts was "Love Maniac" in 1979, her name as a singer back then was A'mbar, after that followed her second number 1 with "The Witch" and soon after "Dangerous Rhythm." In what is generally considered to be her best known song, she was asked by Giorgio Moroder to write the lyrics in Spanish and sing "Vamos a Bailar" which he had written to be part of the soundtrack for the film Scarface. The song instantly became a classic amongst Spanish speakers despite failing to garner any major attention outside of Cuba where it was recorded. As her two albums with Ambar and her solo debut were recorded in English, it was her second album "Maria Conchita" from 1984 that made her a singing star in the Spanish-speaking market, receiving a "Best Latin Artist" Grammy nomination for it in 1985^{[citation needed]}.

She made her Hollywood film debut in 1984 in Moscow on the Hudson with Robin Williams, and also starred in movies like The Running Man, Predator 2, The House of the Spirits,Vampire's Kiss, Colors and the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. She was one of the few Latin-born actress to star in a Broadway show in 1995, playing Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Alonso also acted in romantic comedies Chasing Papi (2003) and The Last Guy on Earth (2006) (post production).

According to the ABC site, she raised $20,000 for charity organizations such as the US Humane Society, the Global Medical Relief Fund, and the Venezuela Without Boundaries Foundation.^[1]

Alonso was cast to play Lucía, the mother of Gabrielle Solis, on the ABC hit show Desperate Housewives. The episode was aired on February 19, 2006. She starred in the live-action film of the comic book, El Muerto, as Sister Rosa, and she is being featured at the movie "Material Girls," that went out in United States as of August 18, 2006.

Alonso is currently hosting VH1's Viva Hollywood! on April 13, 2008 with Carlos Ponce.

Political views

Alonso is an outspoken critic of elected Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, whom she has described as a "dictator" like "Hitler,"^[2] and those who vote and support him as "terrorists."^[3] She has appeared on Sean Hannity's Hannity's America on May 6, 2007, Hannity & Colmes on June 1, 2007^[2] and Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor on August 13, 2007 and March 11, 2009.

In the fall of 2008, Alonso endorsed the presidential campaign of Republican nominee John McCain, writing:

María's brother, Roberto Alonso, was one of the four speakers who gave a speech at the closing of Senator John McCain's campaign in Florida.

Filmography

Radio

• Recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign

Discography

• Love Maniac (with Ambar, 1979)
• The Witch (with Ambar, 1980)
• Dangerous Rhythm (1982)
• María Conchita (1984)

1. Acaríciame
2. Noche De Copas
3. La Loca
4. Cadena
5. Decir Te Quiero
6. Entre La Espada Y La Pared
7. Amor De Madrugada
8. Dame Un Poquito De Tu Amor
9. Eres Tan Real

• O Ella O Yo (1985) (Billboard Latin Pop Albums #9)
• Grandes Éxitos (1986)
• Mírame (1987) (Billboard Latin Pop Albums #12)
• Colors (1988)
• Hazme Sentir (1990)

1. Hazme Sentir
2. Soy El Amor
3. A Él Lo Quiero
4. Esa Mañana
5. Mátame
6. En La Noche
7. Acérate Más
8. No Encuentro Paz
9. El Tonto Aquel
10. Las Sombras De La Noche
11. Me Vuelve Loca Tu Amor

• En Vivo - México (1991)
• Imagíname (1992)
• Alejandra: Boleros (1994)
• Hoy Y Siempre (1997)
• Soy : Single CD (2005)
• Mienteme (2009)

Singles

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: María Conchita Alonso

• Official web site
• Maria Conchita Alonso at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview
• Public speaking profile
• Maria Conchita Alonso speaks out against Hugo Chavez on Hannity's America