"Anacani" María Consuelo Castillo-López y Cantor-Montoya (born April 10, 1954) is a Mexican singer best known as a featured performer on ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

program.

Early life

She was born in

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, as the sixth of seven children of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and French parents. The family moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

when she was a child. During that time she began to sing thanks to her family's musical background. In

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

, during a family trip to

, her singing talents were discovered by a

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

, which led to appearances on the

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

''Las Estrellas y Usted'' (The Stars and You) followed by appearances on

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

television and concert tours.

Career

After completing

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, Anacani and her family went to the Lawrence Welk Resort in

Escondido, California Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...

, where she was discovered by bandleader

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

. She became the resort's singing hostess and debuted on the '' Lawrence Welk Show'' in January 1973. After more guest appearances, she was hired as a regular performer. During the show's run and afterward, she was popular as a soloist with songs like " Vaya Con Dios", "Luna", "Eres tu", and "It's Impossible". She did duets with Welk star Tanya Falan, toured with ensemble and released an album called ''Lawrence Welk presents Anacani'' through

Ranwood Records Ranwood Records is an American record label started in 1968 by Randy Wood (after he left Dot Records) and Lawrence Welk. Lawrence Welk owned all of the recordings that he released on Dot as they were produced and manufactured by Teleklew Product ...

. She served as the Latino

spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for Yuban Coffee. She had a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British televisio ...

in the 1981 feature film ''

Zoot Suit A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a men's Suit (clothing), suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, wikt:pegged pants, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. It is most notable for its ...

''.

Personal life

Anacani lives in Escondido with her husband Rudy Echeverria and her daughter Priscila. She is an accomplished clothing designer and

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable d ...

. She performs with other Welk alumnae. She is a guest soloist with many

symphony orchestras An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

; and since the early 1980s has worked the

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

References

External links

Anacani Webpage
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anacani 1954 births Living people Mexican emigrants to the United States Singers from Sinaloa Lawrence Welk