In Honor of Olga Chorens and Tony Alvarez, "Olga and Tony"

Representative Robert Menendez

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Olga Chorens and Tony Alvarez ("Olga and Tony"), two very special and talented entertainers, who have been in show business for six decades.

Olga and Tony began their careers as singers in Cuba during the early 1940s. When they married in 1945, their celebrity status turned the wedding into a popular social event.

After the wedding, Olga and Tony went on a five-year tour through Latin America, which began in Panama and ended in Argentina. Upon returning to Cuba, they were offered the opportunity to host a daily one-hour television and radio program for CMQ and Radio Progreso, which they did with great success from 1951 to 1959, while also recording many successful albums. Because of their popularity, Olga and Tony were named Miss and Mr. Cuban Television.

Olga and Tony fled communist rule in Cuba for New York City and Puerto Rico, where they again performed on television. From 1965 to 1972, they performed on Telemundo, Channel 7, Channel 11, and WNJU Channel 47 in New York.

For the past twenty years, Olga and Tony have lived in South Florida, where they maintain a large fan base and where their voices can be heard every Saturday morning on Radio Mambi. They also star on "El Show de Olga y Tony," which airs twice a week on Tele-Miami. In 1999, they were awarded a Star on the "Calle Ocho" Walk of Fame.

As entertainers, Olga and Tony have always promoted family values. They have been married for fifty-five years, and their parents and children often participated in bringing family-based entertainment to the television audience.

Today, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Olga Chorens and Tony Alvarez for entertaining so many for so long, and for being inspirational role models to Hispanics throughout Latin America.

[Taken from the Congressional Record, 31 October 2000, page E2034.]