María Conchita Alonso has been played on NTS shows including Supporter Radio: Roots, with Acariciame first played on 21 September 2025.

María Conchita Alonso (born June 29, 1957) better known as María Conchita, is a Grammy Award-nominated Cuban-born Venezuelan singer and actress.

Early life

María Alonso was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba to Ricardo Alonso and Conchita Bustillo. She moved to Venezuela with her parents when she was 5 years old. She took her first steps in show business when she was crowned Miss Teenager Of The World in 1971 and was 1st runner-up of the Miss Venezuela pageant in 1975; she was also a finalist at the Miss World pageant in 1975 won by Puerto Rico's Wilnelia Merced; thereafter she quickly became a popular actress in Venezuela.

Career

Alonso became the front woman of the band Ámbar in 1979, and started a very successful career as a solo recording artist in 1982, with the release of "Dangerous Rhythm". In what is generally considered to be her best known song, she was asked by Giorgio Moroder to sing his version of "Vamos a Bailar" which he had written to be part of the soundtrack for the film Scarface. The song instantly became a classic amongst Spanish speakers despite failing to garner any major attention outside of Cuba where it was recorded. As her two albums with Ambar and her solo debut were recorded in English, it was her second album "Maria Conchita" from 1984 that made her a singing superstar in the Spanish-speaking market, receiving a "Best Latin Artist" Grammy nomination for it in 1985.

She made her Hollywood film debut in 1984 in Moscow on the Hudson with Robin Williams, and also appeared in movies like The Running Man, Predator 2, The House of the Spirits,Vampire's Kiss, Colors and the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!. She also became the first Latin-born actress to star in a Broadway show in 1995, playing Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Alonso also acted in the romantic comedies Chasing Papi (2003) and The Last Guy on Earth (2006) (post production).

She earned $20,000 for US Humane Society, Global Medical Relief Fund, and Venezuela Without Boundaries Foundation, according to the ABC site.http://abc.go.com/primetime/imacelebrity/charity.html

Alonso posed for a non-nude but sexy pictorial in the December 1991 issue of the Mexican edition of Playboy.

Alonso was cast to play the mother of Gabrielle Solis, Lucia on the ABC hit show Desperate Housewives the episode aired February 19, 2006.

She is also starring in the live-action film of the comic book, El Muerto, as Sister Rosa, and she is being featured at the movie "Material Girls", that went out in United States as of August 18, 2006.

Alonso suffered from the eating disorder bulimia for nearly 10 years before seeking treatment. She has spoken publicly about her struggle in hopes of helping others.[citation needed]

Alonso is a critic of Hugo Chavez. She has appeared on Sean Hannity's Hannity's America on May 6, 2007, Hannity & Colmes on June 1, 2007 and Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor on August 13, 2007.

Radio

Recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign

Discography

* Love Maniac (with Ambar, 1979) * The Witch (with Ambar, 1980) * Dangerous Rhythm (1982) * María Conchita (1984) * O Ella O Yo (1985) * Grandes Éxitos (1986) * Mirame (1987) * Colors (1988) * Hazme Sentir (1990) * En Vivo - Mexico (1991) * Imaginame (1992) * Alejandra: Boleros (1994) * Hoy y Siempre (1997) * Soy : Single CD (2005)