Danielle Colby Striptease Historian | The Queen of Rust

Hispanic Heritage Month: Chelo Alonso

Added 2021-09-30 11:36:33 +0000 UTC

Continuing on with Hispanic Heritage month, we're looking at the life and accomplishments of Chelo Alonso. She was born in Central Lugareño, Camagüey, Cuba in 1933 as Isabela Apolonia García Hernández. Her father was Cuban and her mother was Mexican. Her career took off when she was dancing at the Teatro Nacional de Cuba. Her dancing was particularly special because she combined traditional Afro-Cuban dancing with Bump and Grind burlesque. Eventually, she found herself in Paris dancing at the Foiles Bergère and gained notoriety, being described as the "new Josephine Baker" and "the Cuban H-bomb." Her career evolved into film acting, become especially popular in Italian cinema. Her fame spread across the world and she became a massive star and sex symbol. She was THE it girl after Josephine Baker, and before Brigitte Bardot. She was so well-loved that, apparently, Che Guevara personally begged her to return to Cuba after the Revolution had calmed down.

Here are a couple of articles for more reading on Chelo Alonso:

https://www.stevereeves.com/single-post/2019/03/05/a-farewell-to-chelo-alonso-1933-2019

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chelo-alonso-obituary-sz0pklmnz

https://www.messynessychic.com/2019/01/24/vintage-muse-du-jour-rediscovering-chelo-alonso-cubas-answer-to-marilyn/