Thus, neither seem to lend credence to Russell's claim that his Mexican-American ethnicity was clearly evidenced by his singing in Spanish and his continual affirmation of being of Mexican descent. Specifically, once he had a huge hit with "Bésame Mucho", Russell's trademark was his bilingual singing ability, which would not only be a feature of many of his songs, but a reflection of his cultural upbringing. As Loza states: "Because he was singing bilingually, Andy felt that the public would know his background by the Spanish songs in his repertoire" and realize he was a Mexican who had simply adopted a stage name, as was the norm for many performers of all ethnicities in that era.