María Conchita Alonso (born June 29, 1957) better known as María Conchita, is a Grammy Award-nominated Cuban-born Venezuelan singer and actress.
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).Alonso was cast to play the mother of Gabrielle Solis, Lucia on the ABC hit show Desperate Housewives the episode aired February 19, 2006.
