Maria Rosario Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza, or Charo, as her… er… dozens of fans call her, is on season 3 of The Surreal Life on VH-1.
I understand that she is a very talented classical guitarist, having trained under Segovia and having won several awards for her guitar virtuosity. Good on her.
My question concerns her thick Spanish accent. She’s either 52 or 62 years old, depending on whom you believe. She’s been living and touring in the US since the 70’s and possibly earlier, so by my calculations she’s had at least 30 years to lose the accent.
So, is it all shtick? Has she ever gone on the record about her accent? Are there any recordings of her speaking in a non-heavily-accented voice? Or is it really possible to not lose an accent after 30 years?
My sister attended a Charo concert some years back and, FWIW, said that her guitar playing was divine. Flamenco is not an easy style to master. Whether she spoke with her trademark accent or not during the performance I never thought to ask.
As far as accents go, however, I have known plenty of people who have settled in the U.S. from other parts of the world, and have never lost their accents. These include some highly educated people, even linguists and musicians, who, one might expect, should have a greater sensitivity to differences of sound.
I think much of it comes down to a matter of incentive. Once upon a time, immigrants from other countries strove mightily to overcome their native accents in order to be accepted as “Americans”. I saw an interview with Alan Young, who, upon arriving from Scotland, worked very hard to develop an American accent in order to find work as an actor. How many people who grew up watching him in Mr. Ed ever would have guessed that his natural accent was the one he leant to Scrooge McDuck?
Charo, being famous for her thick accent, would have little incentive to lose it, so long as the majority of what she says can be understood by her target audience.
My understanding is that the speech centers of the brain are pretty hard-wired by the time a person’a nine years old. I imagine losing an accent isn’t very simple once you’re past that point, no matter how long you love in your new country.
My best friend’s parents have been in the United States for over 30 years, and they both have accents. Her father has such a strong accent (he’s from Puerto Rico) that my husband sometimes has a hard time understanding him.
As for Charo, might I say I am still fascinated by this woman. I remember getting so excited when she would be a guest on “The Love Boat”. I know it sounds silly, but she just brightens up a room.
My father has been here since the late 60s, my mother since the early 70s, and all my uncles and aunts from my father’s side arrived at around the same time period. They all have thick accents when speaking English. People who do lose their accents I think are more the exception than the rule.
My immigrant grandparents came to the U.S. in their early 20s, and lived here for over 70 years. They never lost their accent no matter how hard they tried to assimilate.
I remember seeing Charo on the Tonight Show when she was bandleader Xavier Cugat’s “new discovery.” She played a mesmerizing flamenco guitar piece. Since the show was in black and white, and Charo looked to be somewhere in the 18-21 age group, I’m betting she’s at least 62 now.
Charo was a client at a law firm where I previously worked. I never spoke to her personally, but her lawyer’s secretary said that she was an extremely nice lady - very down to earth and warm-hearted. She remembered the names of the secretary and the receptionist and would always ask after their kids and their well-being.
I met Charo about fifteen years ago – the circumstances were so odd it’d take a week to explain, so I won’t try – and she is extremely sweet. Kind, thoughtful, not at all arrogant or haughty, very down to earth and not the silly, coochie-coochie shimmying simplering chica seen on TV. When we parted company she hugged and kissed everyone in our party and thanked everyone for the pleasure of the conversation. She is a really classy lady, and I mean that in all candor.
As for the accent, listen to Henry Kissinger. Or even any number of English ex-pats who live in the U.S. (Rod Stewart, for example, has lived in the U.S. exclusively since 1975, and still sounds like he just left Highgate.) Living in the U.S. is no barrier to retaining one’s natural accent.
No insight about her accent – just wanted to say that I saw her perform in Hawaii in 1990 or so, and she put on a heck of a show. Somewhere I have a picture of her with her hand on my shoulder, and am I grinning like an idiot.
And then again, while the accent itself may not be schtick, the thickness of it may be. Carmen Miranda used to play up her broken English to ridiculous extremes just because it was expected of her.
First-generation adult immigrants rarely lose their accent, and it’s quite common for second-generations to retain at least some characteristics.
Besides that, however, I would assume that someone with Charro’s status would have a “posse” from back home. Freinds and cousins with her, frequent phone calls and visits back home, that sort of thing. It’s not like Charro came to the US and got a job in the Hollywood service industry where she had to speak less-accented or impeccable English. She came over as a star in her late teens/early twenties and stayed a star. She’s had little incentive to lurn herself gud English.
