Shorty Castro - Original Characters

Original Characters

Castro eventually became a major player in Muñiz's productions, developing comedic characters of his own. Among these were:

• Angelo - a mischievous angel that played pranks on other angels that lived among the clouds in heaven, generally annoying Angel Guardián, the head angel, played by Jacobo Morales. This character was a favorite of Benicio del Toro's, who claims to have mimicked it as a child.
• Armando Galán y Figura - a ladies' man, always on the prowl for female company and constantly acting the part
• Ramoneta Cienfuegos de la O - an old maid, constantly craving male companionship, in a way similar to José Miguel Agrelot's Pasión character
• Camellito - a clever drunkard, named for his prodigious consumption of alcohol, which resembled that of a camel drinking water
• El Conde de París - an enigmatic, silent character -nominally a count- dressed in 1870's garb and a top hat who acted physical comedy bits that were the complete opposite of what was logically expected: pulling a ladder from behind a painter who had to hang from a ceiling, for example. The character's name is a play on Castro's home neighborhood in Mayagüez, named after Paris, France. The character played its bits against a musical backdrop: Ennio Morricone's Muscoli di Velluto, an instrumental song written for the Italian film "I Malamondo". This European-themed character was a personal favorite of Raul Julia's, who would later dress similarly in the final scene of La Gran Fiesta, a Puerto Rican film.
• Don Bernabé - a brash millionaire, dressed in a white suit, who would buy out anything and anybody who would stand in his way.
• Don Celedonio - an old man who plays domino in the park with three other old men and makes fun of the one of them which always arrives late, in the tv show "Los Kakukómicos".
• Panchito Zapata y Correa - a short Mexican revolutionary soldier with a large sombrero and wide moustache.
• Cabo Alejo - a short policeman with a large baton.
• Policarpio - a short handyman who goes by the nickname "Poli"; he is the boyfriend of a handmaid named Enriqueta in the tv show "Entrando por la cocina".
• El Otro Gemelo - one of a comic duo of singing twins called "Los Gemelos del Oeste", a parody of the real life duo "Los Gemelos del Sur", in the tv show "Esto no tiene nombre". The other twin was Shorty's real life brother, David.
• Teniente Tito - also called "Tenientito" (Little Liutenant), a short, grouchy army officer.

Castro played a bit part as a rebel soldier in Woody Allen's film Bananas, which was filmed in Puerto Rico. His single memorable line was "Suck out the poison!"