The woman who upstaged Anita Ekberg

As you will know, dear reader, there is nothing we like better here at Dolores Delargo Towers than to discover a new "diva"! Signorina Chelo Alonso is certainly a name I'd never come across before...

From IMDB:

If you remember those "sword and sandal" spectacles that became the rage of Italian cinema during the late 1950s and early 1960s, then you will certainly recall this torrid brunette bombshell. Invariably cast as the ambitiously evil queen or undulating dancer/temptress whose sole mission was to entrance the film's hero, Chelo Alonso's "peplum princess" prime would be surprisingly brief but her memorable moves and over-the-top histrionics were reason enough to place her on the international sex symbol pedestal and earn her cult status. While her acting contributions would certainly attract no awards, she did earn the honour of becoming "Italian Cinema's Female Discovery" early in the game...

She first attracted attention with the film Sign of the Gladiator (1959) where her erotically-charged dance segment stole the thunder right from under the movie's top-billed sex star, Swedish siren Anita Ekberg.

Niche, perhaps, but, by heavens - she has all the right moves for a Tacky Music Monday wake-up call..!

Chelo Alonso in La ragazza sotto il lenzuolo (1961)

[Love the queeny choreographer!]

Chelo Alonso in Guardatele ma non toccatele (1959)

No wonder she was nicknamed the "Cuban H-Bomb" at the Folies Bergère!

Have a great week, dear reader.