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The night Charo gave me the Cuchi-Cuchi

Published Saturday, May 19, 2007 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

Charo certainly got the attention of the media when she came to Boston this weekend to perform at Scullers Jazz Club (see coverage in the Herald, BostonNOW). She already had my attention 19 years ago. Spring break, 1988. My parents broke free from timeshare purgatory and traded up for a vacation to Kauai, Hawaii. A week in Princeville on the rainy north shore of the island, but still plenty of warm sunshine and time for golf, snorkeling, helicopter tours, and a cute girl from Oregon whose family seemed to be following our itinerary. Good times. Love, exciting and new. No wonder Puff the Magic Dragon lived in Hanalei. Toward the end, we trekked over to Charo's restaurant for dinner, and wouldn't you know it, Charo herself worked the room. When she got over to our table, she, yes indeedy, greeted me with her signature "cuchi-cuchi" as she grabbed my cheeks, and then posed for a picture. See how she draped her arm on my shoulder? My parents must have been so proud.