Cuchi-Cuchi! Arriba!
The 31st Annual Tejano Music Awards will be held September 10 at the San Antonio Event Center in San Antonio. Shelly Lares will be performing, as well as probably bringing home an award or two. She has been nominated for Song of the Year (“Y Lo Nuestro Que”), Female Vocalist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, and Album of the Year-Tejano (“Mirando Adelante”).
When I taught, I kept up with current music in all genres so I could better understand my students and what they were “in to.” Since then, I have been more eclectic in my contemporary listening habits. If the song grates on that last nerve in my spine, I don’t feel obligated to endure it again.
When I was told Shelly Lares would be coming to the Harvest Festival this year, I had to ask, “Who is that?”
“Oh, she has songs in English and Spanish. She’s real popular. Lots of people around here know who she is.”
Okay. I didn’t question that. However, I was not familiar with her or any of her songs and, immediately, doubted if I would want to attend. (It’s always easier to say no or do nothing.)
Spanish doesn’t bother me. Some of my favorite songs, both instrumental and vocal, are Spanish: “La Bamba,” “Eres Tu,” “Oye Como Va,” Quimbara (well, just about anything with Celia Cruz), and many more that most people don’t know. Just thinking of “Malaguena” and “En Aranjuez con Mi Amor” makes my fingers automatically move and my arms ache with the desire to grab a guitar.
I’ll tell you about one of my little known secrets. When I was a kid, I saw Charo (known for her “cuchi-cuchi” and constant wiggling) on a late night TV talk show and immediately fell in love with the guitar. I asked for one for Christmas and got it—a tiny wooden thing with plastic, impossible to tune, strings from the local TG&Y. I tried and tried to get some kind of pleasant sound out of it but finally gave up. It stayed in my room where I looked at it and dreamed of getting a real one someday.
I never missed an opportunity to see Charo perform and would be glued to the TV even today if she were on. If Charo were to perform at the Harvest Festival, security would probably have to hold me back—even if she could no longer play or sing well or cuchi-cuchi!
By the way, the site charo.info states (which I have heard many times before) that her “trademarked ‘cuchi, cuchi’ comes from her nickname for her dog from childhood. Charo says: ‘I was 3 years old and I had a dog called Cuchillo, and when Cuchillo was happy he wiggled. When I was very young I copied him and I used to say ‘como Cuchi, como Cuchi’ – like Cuchi, like Cuchi. Everybody thought that it was very cute when I wiggled and say cuchi-cuchi, and they give me cookies and candy. Now, every time I say cuchi-cuchi, people give me money.’”
Just goes to show, you never know what or who might influence somebody!
As for Shelly Lares, she must be good to get so many nominations for the Tejano Music Awards. She joins area greats like Lubbock’s The Hometown Boys who have won awards in the past, and by checking her web site, I saw she has been performing around 20ish years. She even has an album with Vince Gill. Tejano/country is her genre.
Between now and the Harvest Festival, I plan to listen to more of her songs and pay close attention to the Tejano Music Awards. I hope she does well. Wonder if she cuchi-cuchis?
Author, writer, radio host, and educator Glenda Cameron has been co-host of TownTalk since 2006. In addition, she serves as Media Producer and contributing writer to www.towntalkradio.com. She began her radio career in Littlefield, Texas, at KZZN, later moving to KJAK and KFRE in Lubbock. Glenda’s hobbies include guitar, piano, and scanography.
