Shorty Castro - Early Career

Early Career

Castro was born in Mayagüez's Barrio La Quinta and raised at Barrio París, the same neighborhood that later produced singer Chucho Avellanet. Shorty's parents were Juan Castro Ayala and Victoria Vélez Cuevas. He is the second and oldest male child of twelve siblings. Since Shorty was short in stature, he claimed, he had to compensate by bringing attention to himself. He eventually developed the skills necessary to become an entertainer: good singing voice, talent as a percussionist, and good timing for comedy. While working full-time as a messenger for the municipality of Mayagüez, Castro held odd jobs in numerous local orchestras, mostly as a singer and percussionist. These orchestras included William Manzano's and Carlos López's (for both, Mon Rivera had also been a singer and percussionist; Mon was a close friend and lent arrangements for Castro's orchestras so often that show producers began to confuse the two singers), Mingo and His Whoopee Kids (for which Ruth Fernandez was a singer once) Charlie Miró y sus Pájaros Locos (which regularly had Eddie Miró as comic relief and master of ceremonies), and San Germán's Happy Hills' Orchestra (where Castro was a singer, percussionist and comic sketch performer -he toured New York City twice with the orchestra). He was also a co-founder of Roberto Ortiz's Orchestra.

One of these orchestras performed a gig at the Baños de Coamo, where producer Tommy Muñiz took notice of Castro's performance. After meeting him, Muñiz asked Castro to perform in La Taberna India, Muñiz's best rated television show, alongside Rafael Cortijo's band. Castro then returned to Mayagüez to prepare for his move to San Juan, which was supposed to occur on August 24, 1956. At a road stop in Quebradillas, however, Castro learned about the sudden death of Ramón Ortiz del Rivero (Diplo), Puerto Rico's most popular comedian at the time. With the country in mourning, Castro was forced to return to Mayagüez and wait one week for his television debut, on August 31. He played congas and sang a few of Mon Rivera's plenas with the Cortijo band that day. He later became a stagehand (first) and musical bit player within the program. When his contracts ran out, Castro returned to singing, and made a second tour of New York with the Happy Hills' Orchestra.

Muñiz and other producers regularly staged shows with Puerto Rican talent at the Puerto Rico Theater near Spanish Harlem, in New York City. For a while, Castro had an impromptu orchestra of his own in New York, with Héctor Pellot as musical director and Kako Bastar as percussionist. His orchestra was invited to perform at some of these shows, along Myrta Silva and Bobby Capó, among others; in these he was asked to do longer comedy parts.

Asked to return to Puerto Rico by Muñiz, Castro left his orchestra and started playing regular comedy roles in Tommy Muñiz's productions such as "Hogar, Dulce Hogar" where he played Napoleoncito, the romantic interest of María Antonieta, a maid played by Carmen Belén Richardson. He later played a similar role, "Medio Metro", along Velda González's Azucena in "La Criada Malcriada", first on television, later on film.

He also participated often along José Miguel Agrelot in many comedy television programs and live appearances. Their professional relationship and friendship lasted over 40 years. Agrelot once joked about Castro: "we get along so well that I'll probably die in his birthday." As fate would have it, Agrelot died suddenly on the afternoon of January 28, 2004, a date that coincides with Castro's birthday.

In the 70's, Shorty almost dies in a car crash with his red Corvette. Nowadays he hosts Máxima 940 am radio show "Shorty Castro a las 11", together with long-time friend and fellow comedian Tito Negrón. Shorty has a son and a daughter, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His favorite hobby is tv watching.