Gualberto Castro (1934-2019) *84

was a Mexican singer, actor and television presenter.

Castro was best known for singing with Los Hermanos Castro (aka "The Brothers Castro"), for his portrayal of Tony in the 1977 Mexican production of West Side Story, and for hosting the television program La Carabina de Ambrosio. Born in Mexico City, Castro began singing at an early age. He and his mother Julieta, father Antonio, and sister Julieta Jr. lived in Colonia Guerrero, Mexico City, Mexico; a singing teacher, Alejandro Algara, lived in the same building. "My father studied singing with the Algara; my father had a superior tenor voice", said Castro. "In those days, opera was what was studied, but I chose romantic ballads because it was what my father sang and I began listening to his music very early in life." Although Castro's father did not sing professionally, he wrote some of Castro's songs that Castro recorded on his hit album Qué mal amada estás, such as "Vanidosa". Even though Castro wanted to sing, he could not find a job as a singer. He began his artistic career as a backup dancer when he was 14 years old in the Teatro Blanquita, located in downtown Mexico City. Castro's first cousins, Arturo, Javier and Jorge Castro, had developed a singing group called Los Hermanos Castro ("The Castro Brothers"). They invited Castro to join as a countertenor voice to harmonize with Jorge's superb tenor voice. The group sang in nightclubs and bars in Mexico City. An agent from New York heard the boys and contracted them to sing in New York City. Gualberto related: "When we got the contract to sing in New York, we thought we had become millionaires." However, they discovered that living in New York was very expensive. "We were so poor", said Gualberto, "that the four of us slept in one bed. Two of us slept with our heads at the foot of the bed and the other two of us slept with our heads at the head of the bed." In time, the Castro Brothers gained fame in the United States and began to tour the country.

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