The world knows @officialcharo as the one and only “cuchi cuchi” girl, but behind the musician’s cheeky persona is an accomplished flamenco and classical guitarist who has fought to stay true to herself and her sound. In the ’90s Charo released a hit acoustic album, ‘Guitar Passion,’ despite many people in her camp advising her against it. “They were so afraid to change my image,” she recalls in our annual Originals portfolio. “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.” At the link in our bio, the icon looks back at her extraordinary life. - Photography: @luisalbertorodriguezstudio Writer: @abbyaguirre Hair and Makeup: @laura_bueno W VOLUME FIVE 2022, THE ORIGINALS ISSUE