Maria Conchita Alonso

María Concepción Alonso Bustillo, known professionally as María Conchita Alonso, is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and model born in Cienfuegos, Cuba on June 29, 1957. Her family, of Spanish descent, fled Cuba's revolutionary regime when she was five, settling in Caracas, Venezuela. Her journey into the limelight began with beauty pageants, securing titles like Miss Teenager of the World in Lisbon, Portugal, and later becoming the first runner-up in Miss Venezuela 1975. This led to a top-seven finish at Miss World 1975 in London. Transitioning to a modeling and acting career, she starred in Venezuelan TV series like Mabel Valdez, Periodista, and Estefanía. Her move to the United States in 1982 marked a shift towards Hollywood, with early roles in The Fantasy Island and Knight Rider, and a film debut alongside Robin Williams in 1984's Moscow on the Hudson. Her music career, initially under the stage name Ámbar, began with disco albums Love Maniac (1979) and The Witch (1980), both recorded in collaboration with composer Rudy La Scala. Her switch to Spanish-language music brought hits like "Acaríciame" and "Noche de Copas" from her album María Conchita (1984), earning her a Grammy nomination. During this time, she also contributed to movie soundtracks like Scarface (1983) and participated in humanitarian projects like "Cantaré, Cantarás" (1985), the Spanish counterpart to "We Are the World." Other successful albums followed over the next few years, including O Ella, o Yo (1985), and Mírame (1987). In 1994, she returned to the telenovela format on the Venezuelan soap opera Alejandra (1994) and participated in its soundtrack, a collection of boleros featuring the legendary Armando Manzanero. Even though she focused on her acting career in the subsequent decades, she still made time to resume her musical efforts on releases like the Soy EP (2005), Miénteme (2009), and Amor de Madrugada (2016).

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