Charo’s appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the mid‑1960s were pivotal in introducing her to American audiences and in molding the public persona she would carry for decades.

Charo didn’t speak English when she first arrived in the U.S., and when Carson asked her some questions, she later said, “I didn’t understand what he was asking me.” Unsure of how to respond, she improvised with a phrase that became her signature: “Cuchi‑cuchi!” She recalled that the phrase sounded “just dirty enough to be funny, and just family‑friendly enough to make it onto television.” Her performance captured attention in a way that words alone could not, and Carson’s show provided the immediate platform.

Over time, the “Cuchi‑Cuchi Girl” identity became both a blessing and a constraint for Charo. The phrase “became like a trademark,” a kind of protection when she was uncertain in interviews, but also something that overshadowed other parts of her talent, especially guitar. As she reflected more recently, Charo has said, “I lost my prestige as an entertainer because I was the 'Cuchi‑Cuchi girl’.”

Nonetheless, her early Tonight Show appearances dramatically elevated her visibility in the U.S., helping her transition from a newcomer who “did not speak one word of English” to a television regular—one whose persona and musical skills made her a fixture on variety shows and talk shows throughout the 1970s and beyond.