María Conchita Alonso

María Conchita Alonso
María Conchita Alonso
	Alonso (right) at LA Pride 2011
Born	María Concepción Alonso Bustillo; June 29, 1955 (age 68); Cienfuegos, Cuba
Citizenship	Cuba; Venezuela; United States;
Occupation(s)	Singer, actress
Relatives	Antonella Alonso (niece)
	Beauty pageant titleholder
Title	Miss World Venezuela 1975
Years active	1971–present
Major; competition(s)	Miss World Venezuela 1975; (Winner); Miss World 1975; (Top 7)
	Musical career
Genres	Latin pop; adult contemporary; dance-pop; pop rock;

María Concepción Alonso Bustillo (born June 29, 1957^[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.

She has participated in film and television productions, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award as Best Leading Actress in 1996 for her role in Caught. As a singer, she has received several gold and platinum records, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards.

Alonso was the first Latin American actress not born in the United States to star in a musical on Broadway, with Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Broadhurst Theatre (1995).

Early life

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 made her Hollywood film debut in Moscow on the Hudson (1984) with Robin Williams, and also starred in Touch and Go (1986), Extreme Prejudice (1987), The Running Man (1987), Colors (1988), Vampire's Kiss (1989), Predator 2 (1990) and The House of the Spirits (1993).

In 1995, she became the first Latin-born actresses to star in a Broadway show, playing Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman.^{[citation needed]} She later acted in the romantic comedies Chasing Papi (2003) and The Last Guy on Earth (2006).

Alonso was cast to play Lucía, the mother of Gabrielle Solis, on the ABC series Desperate Housewives. The episode aired on February 19, 2006. She was in the Latin version, Amas de Casa Desesperadas, for Univision Network. She was a guest star in the live-action film of the comic book El Muerto and appeared in the film Material Girls (2006).

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 was an outspoken critic of Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, whom she described as a "dictator"-like "Hitler"^[11] and whose voters and supporters she described as "terrorists."^[12] She appeared on Sean Hannity's Hannity's America on May 6, 2007, Hannity & Colmes on June 1, 2007^[11] and Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor on August 13, 2007, and March 11, 2009.

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]

In mid-2016, Alonso stated that she supported neither Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump nor Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the U.S. election, viewing both of them as unacceptable.^[18]^[19]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1978	Savana – Sesso e diamanti	Margaret Johnson	Italian B movie
1979	Solon
	Estefanía	Silvana Cataldo	TV series
	Mabel Valdez, periodista
1980	Natalia de 8 a 9	Mariana Brito
1980	Mi hijo Gabriel
1980	El Esposo de Anaís
1980	Claudia	Claudia
1981	Marielena	Marielena
1981	Angelito
1981	Luz Marina	Luz Marina
1982	Fantasy Island	French Girl	1 episode
1982	Knight Rider	Marie Elena Casafranca	1 episode; credited as Maria Conchita
1983	Nacho	Herself	TV series
1984	Moscow on the Hudson	Lucia Lombardo
1984	Fear City	Silver	as Maria Conchita
1986	A Fine Mess	Claudia Pazzo	a.k.a. Blake Edwards' A Fine Mess (USA: complete title)
1986	Touch and Go	Denise DeLeon
1987	Il cugino americano	Caterina Ammirati	a.k.a. Blood Ties (USA: TV title)
1987	Extreme Prejudice	Sarita Cisneros
1987	The Running Man	Amber Mendez
1988	Con el Corazón en la Mano
1988	Colors	Louisa Gomez
1989	One of the Boys	Maria Conchita Navarro	6 episodes
1989	Vampire's Kiss	Alva Restrepo
1990	Predator 2	Leona Cantrell
1991	Sesame Street	Herself	1 episode
1991	Cuerpos clandestinos (TV)	Claudia
1991	McBain	Christina
1992	Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (TV)	Carmen	a.k.a. Power Play: The Jackie Presser Story (UK: video title)
1993	Roosters	Chata
1993	The House of the Spirits	Tránsito Soto
1994	Alejandra	Alejandra Martínez	TV series
1994	Texas (TV)	Lucia	a.k.a. James A. Michener's Texas
1994	MacShayne: The Final Roll of the Dice (TV)	Cindy Evans
1996	Caught	Betty	a.k.a. Atrapados (USA: Spanish title)
1996	For Which He Stands	Theresa Rochetti
1996	Sudden Terror: The Hijacking of School Bus #17	Marta Caldwell
1997	Women: Stories of Passion	Sophia	1 episode
1997	Chicago Hope	Emma Scull	2 episodes
1997	Robert Altman's Gun	Marti	1 episode
1997	Catherine's Grove	Charley Vasquez
1997	F/X: The Series	Elena Serrano	2 episodes
1997	Acts of Betrayal	Eva Ramirez
1998	Exposé	Nancy Drake	a.k.a. Footsteps (Philippines: English title) (USA: working title)
1998	Blackheart	Annette
1998	The Nanny	Concepcion Sheffield	1 episode
1998	The Outer Limits	Marie Alexander	Episode: "The Vaccine"
1998	El Grito en el cielo	Miranda Vega	a.k.a. Shout Out (USA: festival title)
1998	My Husband's Secret Life (TV)	Toni Diaz
1999	Touched by an Angel	Dr. Sandra Pena	1 episode
1999	Dillinger in Paradise	Lola
2000	Chain of Command	Vice President Gloria Valdez
2000	Amantes de luna llena
2000	Knockout	Carmen Alvarado
2000	A Vision of Murder: The Story of Donielle (TV)	Gloria
2000	Best Actress (TV)	Maria Katarina Caldone
2000	High Noon (TV)	Helen Ramirez
2000	Twice in a Lifetime	Kat Lopez	1 episode
2000	The Princess & the Barrio Boy (TV)	Minerva Rojas	a.k.a. She's in Love (UK)
2001	The Code conspiracy	Rachel
2001	Resurrection Blvd.	Julia Hernandez	3 episodes
2001	Birth of Babylon	Lupe Velez
2002	Blind Heat	Adrianna Scott
2002	Robbery Homicide Division	Claudia	1 episode
2003	The Company You Keep	Vera
2003	Kingpin	Ariela	TV series
2003	Heart of America	Mrs. Jones	a.k.a. Home Room (Australia)
2003	Chasing Papi	Maria
2003	Newton's Law
2004	CSI: Miami	Marisela Gonzalez	1 episode: Blood Moon
2005	English as a Second Language	Consuelo Sara
2005	La Academia USA	Judge
2005	Smoke	Aurora Avila
2006	Desperate Housewives	Lucía Márquez	1 episode
2006	Material Girls	Inez
2007	The Dead One	Sister Rosa
2007	The Condor (V)	Mrs. Valdez (voice)	a.k.a. Stan Lee Presents: The Condor (USA: DVD box title)
2007	Saints & Sinners	Diana Martin	62 episodes
2008	Richard III	Queen Elizabeth
2008	Tranced	Libra
2008	The Art of Travel	Mrs. Layne
2008	The Red Canvas	Maria Sanchez
2008	Two Minutes Of Hate		Dos minutos de odio
2008	Unauthorized Clifford		Des-Autorizado (Venezuela: wide-release title)
2009	Maneater (miniseries)	Alejandra Alpert	Two episodes
2009	Dark Moon Rising	Sheriff Sam.
2009	Spread	Ingrid
2011	Without Men	Lucrecia
2012	Lords of Salem	Alice Matthias
2014	Return to Babylon	Lupe Vélez
2016	November Rule	Ms Luisa
2017	Kill 'Em All	Agent Sanders
2018	Off the Menu	Cordelia Torres
2018	El señor de los cielos	Nora Requena
2019	¡He matado a mi marido!	Remedios
2019	The I-Land	Mrs. Chase	Miniseries
2019	Into the Dark	Bea	1 episode ("Good Boy")
2021	Take Me to Tarzana	Juanita

Discography

Álbumes de estudio

Love Maniac (1979)
The Witch (1980)
Dangerous Rhythm (1982)
Te Amo/I Love You (1983)
María Conchita (1984)
O Ella, o Yo (1985)
Mírame (1987)
Hazme Sentir (1990)
Imagíname (1992)
Boleros (Alejandra) (1994)
Amor De Madrugada (2016)
Lléname de Ti (2020)

Álbumes en vivo

En Vivo en México (1992)

Compilaciones

Lo mejor de (1986)
Grandes éxitos (1989)
Súper hits (1991)
De colección (1994)
Hoy y siempre (1997)
Lo mejor de María Conchita Alonso (2000)
La más completa colección (2005)
Grandes éxitos/Greatest hits (2006)
16 Éxitos de oro (2012)
Reina Eterna (2017)

Singles

Year	Song	Hot Latin Songs	Album
1987	"Suéltame"	22	Grandes Éxitos
1987	"Otra Mentira Más"	24	Mírame
1988	"Y Es Que Llegaste Tú"	5	Mírame
1990	"Hazme Sentir"	24	Hazme Sentir
1991	"A Él Lo Quiero"	35	Hazme Sentir
1993	"Promesas"	20	Imagíname
2019	"Ya No Más"	–	¡He matado a mi marido! - Soundtrack
2020	"Llename De Ti"	–	"Llename De Ti" single

References

^ Marys, Catherine Medina (February 27, 2021). "Antonella Alonso: "La industria pornográfica es parte del cine"". El Pitazo (in Spanish). Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^ "Antonella Alonso, "La Sirena 69"". La Gran Aldea (in Spanish). January 20, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^ "Cakewatch: Celebrity birthdays". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
^ "Alonso, María Conchita". Cubans in America. The Cuban Studies Institute. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
^ "Title winner". Beaver County (Pa.) Times. November 21, 1975. p. A-3. Retrieved April 15, 2024 – via Google News.
^ "Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences nominees for Grammy ..." United Press International. January 10, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
^ "UNICEF Charity match 27th July 1986. 11v11 website".
^ "You Tube - 27th July 1986. UNICEF charity match". YouTube.
^ "Wolf Moon DVD Art and Special Features Revealed". Dreadcentral.com. April 14, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
^ "'Soy' Maria Conchita Alonso! – Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive". Windy City Times.
^ ^a ^b "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.
^ "Open Letter to Sean Penn". Mediaite.com. March 29, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
^ "Where Washington Comes To Talk Now on 105.9FM!". WMAL. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
^ Press office. Maria Conchita Alonso Endorses John McCain Archived December 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine JohnMcCain.com, October 31, 2008.
^ Steve Malzberg (August 8, 2012). "Alonso: Obama Win a Move Toward Chavez". Spreecast. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
^ "Actress Out Of San Francisco Production After Endorsing Tea Party Candidate". CBS Local San Fran. KCBS. January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^ "María Conchita Alonso no piensa votar por Hillary Clinton". noticias.entravision.com. July 23, 2016. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
^ "María Conchita Alonso asegura que no le gusta Hillary Clinton (VIDEO)". www.telemundo.com.