María Concepción Alonso Bustillo (born June 29, 1955[3]), better known as María Conchita Alonso, is a Cuban-American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who represented Venezuela at Miss World 1975 and placed in the top seven.
María Conchita Alonso was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on June 29, 1955, to Ricardo Alonso and Conchita Bustillo. Her family moved to Venezuela when she was five years old in 1962 after the Cuban Revolution. She was crowned Miss Teenager World in 1971. She was runner up for Miss Venezuela in 1975, and became a top seven runner-up in the Miss World pageant later that year,[4] which was won by Puerto Rico's Wilnelia Merced.[5]
Career
Alonso's first gold album and number one song on the charts was Love Maniac, released in 1979 under the name Ámbar. After that followed her second number-one "The Witch" and soon after "Dangerous Rhythm". For what is considered 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 for the soundtrack of the film Scarface. The song instantly became a classic among Spanish speakers, despite failing to garner major attention outside of Cuba where it was recorded. Her two albums with Ámbar and her solo debut were recorded in English. Her second album, María Conchita, in 1984, made her an international singing star in the Spanish-speaking market, and garnered her first of three Grammy Award nominations (1985, 1988, 1994).[6]
Alonso sang the United States national anthem at the FIFA UNICEF charity match on July 27, 1986, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in front of a crowd of 57,539. The game was between the “Rest of the World” and “The Americas” which featured Diego Maradona only one month after his successful 1986 World Cup win.[7][8]
Alonso hosted VH1's ¡Viva Hollywood! on April 13, 2008, with Carlos Ponce. She portrayed Sam in the werewolf horror film Wolf Moon, directed by Dana Mennie.[9]
Alonso appeared in Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem, released in 2013. Her latest film, a fantasy short titled The Secret of Joy, features her alongside fellow Venezuelan actor Carlos Antonio León, Spanish actress Laura Bayonas, and Brazilian actress Ana Carolina Da Fonseca in a story that aims to bring awareness about pediatric cancer.[citation needed]
Political views
Alonso has often spoken in support of LGBT rights and in appreciation of her LGBT fans, stating, "I was very much supported by the community when I first came out with my music". In a 2004 article, she compared herself to Cher in terms of her connection to LGBT culture.[10]
Alonso issued an "Open Letter to Sean Penn" (the two had played lovers in the 1988 movie Colors) online on March 29, 2010, regarding his support of Hugo Chávez. She used a point-by-point refrain of "WHY" in her letter questioning various issues occurring in Venezuela.[13] In December 2011, she got into a heated exchange with Penn at a Los Angeles airport during which Penn called her a pig and she responded by calling Penn a communist.[14]
In the fall of 2008, Alonso endorsed the US presidential campaign of Republican nominee John McCain, writing:[15]
As a Latina and a new American citizen, I believe in this country and its people, and I believe that we need more than just "change." We need a leader who can bring about the right kind of change, and John McCain has the experience and judgment necessary to lead us in these uncertain times. I grew up in Cuba and Venezuela, and I am appalled that Barack Obama apparently wants to emulate the "spread the wealth" economic policies of those countries and negotiate with their leaders.
In an August 2012 Spreecast interview, Alonso stated her opposition to Obama's re-election, saying that if reelected, he would take steps to make the United States become more like Venezuela under the Chávez government.[16]
In January 2014, Alonso resigned from a San Francisco production of The Vagina Monologues after appearing in an advertisement for Republican candidate for Governor Tim Donnelly.[17]
^ ab"All those people are Chavistas, all those people are controlled by Chavez ... So they say what Chavez wants them to say ... No, he was not elected democratically. The first time he was elected democratically, but the last two time[s], the referendum and this last month of December, he was not." Hannity & Colmes, Fox News. June 2007.
^Geraghty, James. "After Watching Her Speak, Giuliani Was an Afterthought," National Review Online. May 1, 2007.