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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | DECEMBER 2020 | 41 Friendship Club remembers when Charo performed… In 2013, we had one of the most memorable talents to grace the Main Clubhouse stage — the incomparable Charo. With incredible excitement, animation, and a darn good figure, she dazzled the audience with her energetic singing and dancing. Wearing long turquoise gloves and a stunning turquoise halter dress studded with sequins and crystals, she hopped, skipped, jumped, and kicked up her very high stiletto heels to the delight of the audience. She shook, shimmied, and sang to the accompaniment of bass player Mark Rem, drummer Richard Powell, and keyboardist/musical director Patrick Karst. Telling funny stories, some of which were a little racy, she spoke rapid-fire Spanish as she danced and sang across the stage and then went all through the audience in a cute, flirty way. She shook her long, abundant red hair and showed off the exercises she uses to keep her gorgeous figure in the "cuchi-cuchi" style that brought her fame and fortune all through her career. Midway through the show she donned a long, flowing turquoise skirt and talked about her other passions: working with PETA, the Spanish ambassador, and the king himself to end bullfighting in Spain, writing music with ABBA to raise money for UNICEF, and fighting as an advocate to promote Latino civil rights. Charo's love for flamenco music began at the age of nine, when she started taking guitar lessons from one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Andrés Segovia, with whom she studied until she was 16. She is now considered a world- class guitar virtuoso. She showed off her fantastic talent with classical flamenco pieces including Caliente, Recuerdos, España Cani, and the fabulous Malagueña, which earned her a standing ovation. Her fingers flew along the strings of her guitar as she played the haunting Bolero, which she was granted permission to record by the descendants of Ravel, the composer, in Paris. That recording earned her a platinum record, and another standing ovation from the crowd. The Friendship Club looks forward to the return of club events in Sun Lakes, and its own ability to bring fabulous, Broadway-style shows to residents. The Friendship Club