September 29, 1966
She’s Vikki to Millions, Florencia to E.P. Kin
Loretta Overton
El Paso Times
Her fans know her as singing star Vikki Carr, but her El Paso relatives know her as Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona.
“We never miss watching her when we know she is going to be on television,” says Luis Martinez Casillas at 9201 Alameda street. He is a cousin of Vikki Carr; his mother, Mrs. Rosa Casillas is her aunt. “We haven't seen Florencia (her family name) for many years, but she was born here in El Paso,” Mr. Casillas said. “Then the family went to California where they have lived since.”
Her father is former El Pasoan Carlos Cardona, and Vikki, proud of her Mexican-American heritage, was recently honored as “Outstanding Entertainer of the Year” by the Mexican-American Council of California.
Her television appearances have been on Danny Kaye Show, Red Skeleton, Jimmy Dean and Jerry Lewis Shows, Hollywood Palace, and with Garry Moore, Steve Allen and Johnny Carson. She also made her dramatic debut on the Bing Crosby Show. British television featured her in two BBC-TV Vikki Carr Show specials in England.
Vikki is five feet, two inches tall and has auburn hair and chestnut brown eyes. She weighs 112 pounds. She grew up in Rosemead, Calif., where she played football and baseball with her brothers, Charles, Frank and Tommy. When not engaged as a sandlot “tomboy” she loved to sing and entertain family and friends. She made her public debut when only four years old singing “Adestele Fideles” and “Silent Night” in Latin at a Christmas program.
While in high school, she won leading roles in Rosemead High’s productions of Girl Crazy, Anything Goes and Connecticut Yankee. She sangs with local bands during the weekends and then received the opportunity to audition for the soloists spotlight with the Pepe Callahan Mexican-Irish band. Her father encouraged her to take a chance. She made her debut with Callahan as “Carlita” in Palm Springs.
In the months that followed she traveled with the Mexican-Irish band to Reno, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Hawaii. Then filling in for another act at the Holiday Hotel in Reno, she took the name of Vikki Carr. She was later signed by Liberty Records. Her record albums include “Color Her Great”, “Discovery (two volumes)” and “Anatomy of Love.” What do her El Paso relatives think of her success? “We’re very proud of her,” Mr. Casillas said. “She is muy bonita,” Mrs. Casillas said.
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