Words from Charo

They were so afraid to change my image. They’d tell me, “You’re going to make a big mistake. You are a great entertainer. You bring happiness to people. They forget their problems. You are like a therapy.” And I said, “But when I close my eyes or I look into the mirror, I see my mother working, my grandmom digging in the soil, my aunt doing embroidery. I reached a point that I think I’m a prostitute.” Because I feel so comfortable with this “cuchi-cuchi” image that I destroy what they want me to be when I studied under [Andrés] Segovia. I don’t want to lose respect for myself. So I make a deal with a company, Universal, to say, Okay, a little bit of the songs you wanted, and a lot of my guitar. And that was Guitar Passion. They told me very clearly, “You’re not going to sell nothing.” And then I make the joke: “If I fail, I am broke. I was broke many other times. I always can be an English teacher.” I said, “If not now, it’s never.” I concentrated. I practiced a lot. And Guitar Passion—thank you, god—became a hit overnight.