Cisco Ochoa
- Actor
Francisco Benjamin Martinez Ochoa was born in San Jose, California. His
father, Benjamin, was an immigrant from Mexico who married Maria
Martinez, a native of Millersview, Texas. They lived near the Santa
Clara University campus in Santa Clara. Cisco was born 15 months after
his brother, Jose, and shortly after his birth, the family bought a
home about 5 miles from the apartment they lived in. The marriage did
not last, and their father was often absent. While Jose devoted himself
to studies, Cisco began playing guitar at age 8. With a love for the
theater, performance, or anything else that would put him in the
spotlight, Cisco began performing as a musician at age 12, with a
church group. He continued on, enlisting in the Marine Corps, then
transferring into the Army. After receiving his honorable discharge, he
went to school, majoring in music at De Anza College, and eventually
got picked up by the folk singing group "Schanachie". He toured the
world for a couple of years, but, after finding out "it" wasn't going
to happen, returned to engineering. He now lives in Mountain View, CA,
and performs as a musician now and again, enjoying life with his wife,
Carol, and their son Ariel