Cristian Castro

CRISTIAN CASTRO

Biography

Cristian Castro was born on December 8, 1974 at Santa Teresa Hospital at 7:38 PM in Mexico City, weighing in at 3.5 kilos. Although his mother, Veronica Castro, hoped to have a boy, she was pleasantly surprised when she received the news that her child was a healthy baby boy, whom she named Cristian.

Cristian’s love for music was nurtured at an early age – when he was four, he starred in several commercials and at the young age of five, he made his acting debut in a soap opera called “El Derecho a Nacer.” When he was 7, Cristian recorded his first childrens’ album, entitled “Kristian y Sus Pollitas,” and had his first hit single with “Gallito Feliz.” His success was so great that he even had his own radio show, “La Hora de Kristian,” for a year. For his work in the theatrical show, “Mame,” Cristian received three awards as the best child actor. At the age of 13 or 14, Cristian’s love for music blossomed while he sang in a band in school festivals. In 1989, when Cristian was 15 years old, his goal of studying Literature and Philosophy rapidly diminished when he realized his great popularity after performing “16 Diciembres” at the OTI Festival.

At 17 years of age, Cristian sold his automobile and used his savings to start his musical journey that would shape the rest of his life. Working with his friend, Alejandro Zepeda, Cristian released his first cd, entitled “Agua Nueva.” Fortunately, this album was a bestseller in all of Latin America and Cristian showed the world that a new singer could reach the #1 spot on the singles countdown - ”Para Ti,” “Diez Mil Lagrimas,” “Ritual,” and “No Podras” all reached #1. Cristian called this experience, “The first big step in my life.” “Agua Nueva” would go on to reach gold and platinum status.

While he was working on the soap opera, “Las Secretas Intenciones” with Yolanda Andrade, Cristian released his second album, “Un Segundo en el Tiempo” in 1993. He was nominated for two Grammy awards in the categories of “Singer of the Year” and “Song of the Year (Nunva Voy a Olivardarte).” In Mexico, he received the “Lo Nuestro” award, and “Nunca Voy a Olvidarte” won the 1993 Billboard Award for Best Pop Song of the Year. “Es Mejor Asi” and “Nunca Voy a Olvidarte” led the Latin music charts for several months.

In 1994, Cristian recorded “El Camino del Alma” and in doing so, redefined and elevated his musical status. One of the first singles from the album, “Manana” was written by one of the most prolific and popular Mexican songwriter/singer of all time – Juan Gabriel. The song quickly reached the #1 position on the music charts. For the songs “Con esa Morena” and “No te Vayas,” Cristian helped direct their music videos, using the movie “Dracula” as his inspiration. Although the album sold many copies, Cristian decided to distance himself from music and test the waters of moviemaking. He moved and lived in New York City for a year. Rumors arose that Cristian took drugs and in a later interview, he stated, “It’s a thing of the past.” During this time, he also recorded a bolero called “Vuelveme a Querer” as the principal musical theme for the 1995 soap opera, “Amor y Desamor.” He also recorded “Morelia,” which would later be included in his next album.

In 1996, Cristian recorded his fourth album, “El Deseo De Oir Tu Voz,” which included songs that he wrote, such as “Amor,” whose music video he filmed and directed in Italy and Morocco. “Amor” stayed atop the Hot Latin Tracks Billboard chart for 11 consecutive weeks, garnering the Billboard Award and the “Jovenes con Legado” special award. Cristian’s next single, “Amarte a Ti” was so well received that the song has come to represent the paragon of romantic popular songs.

In 1997, Cristian released “Lo Mejor De Mi,” an album that exceeded all expecations by breaking sales records, earning several awards, and staying on the Latin American and U.S. music charts for weeks. The album’s producer, Rudy Perez, said “There is no doubt that this man has a tear in his throat.” Cristian’s profound and romantic album was nominated for the Grammy Awards in 1997. This album reached platinum, double platinum, and four times platinum status.

Disney approached Cristian in June of 1998 to sing a principal theme in Spanish for the Mexican version of the movie, “Mulan.” For this movie, he sang two songs – “Tu Corazon” and “Hombres Fuertes de Accion Seran Hoy.”

“Mi Vida Sin Tu Amor,” produced my Kike Santander, was released in 1999. Cristian dedicated this album to his younger brother, Michel. Some of the hits included in this CD are “Volver a Amar,” “Mi Vida Sin Tu Amor” and Angel,” in which Kike’s son, Sebastian, had a vocal solo. Cristian wrote a song dedicated to his mother, entitled “Veronica.” In 1999, Cristian also recorded three duets - Olga Tanon (”Descondidos”), Alicia Villareal from the group Limite (”Pasion”), and Jose Alfredo Jimenez (”Ella”).

In December 1999, Cristian shared the stage with Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Michael Jackson in a tribute to the actor Anthony Quenn. He was also chosen to sing the Mexican anthem during the last boxing match of the millennium, featuring Oscar de la Hoya in Las Vegas. In February 2000, Cristian performed at the Vina del Mar and received “La Gaviota de Plata.” In May, he performed at the K-Love Festival in Los Angeles, toured throughout Mexico, and received an award from “Lo Nuestro” as best young singer. Cristian held concerts in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Miami, New York, and Los Angeles in the month of August, and he also received the “Tu Musica” award as Best Latin Male Singer. In December, he sang at Disney World, became a model for Mazola vegetable oil, and recorded a song called “Primavera” with Santana. Cristian also had the honor of being chosen by Billboard as being the artist with the most international, Latin, and U.S. #1 singles. To cap off the year, his very own Remix CD was released, featuring many of his successful songs.

On May 25, 2001 Cristian performed his new song, “Azul,” at the Acapulco Festival and his new CD, also entitled ‘Azul,” was released on June 6. This album was also produced by Kike Santander. The music video for “Azul,” featuring two international female models and several of Cristian’s friends, was filmed in Miami, and the music video for “Yo Queria” was filmed in Mexico and produced by Castro himself. Later in the year, Cristian released a best hits album called “Grandes Hits,” which included three new songs – “Cuando Me Miras Asi,” “Miedo” and “Soledad” – as well as all-time favorites. This CD was dedicated to his fans. Cristian’s international fame solidified when he recorded “Flying Without Wings” with the popular English band, Westlife.

In February of 2002, Cristian received the “Lo Nuestro” award for Best Male Artist of the Year. He also performed at the Vina del Mar and received a “Antorcha de Plata” as a special recognition from his fans.

Cristian married the daughter of a Paraguayan mogul, Gabriela Bo, on March 8, 2003 in a multi-million dollar ceremony that took place in Asuncion. The couple met in an exclusive club at East Point in Uruguay. Just a few days shy of their first year anniversary, Castro filed for divorce in Miami family court, stating that there were irreconciliable differences between himself and Bo. However, Gabriela Bo refused to sign the divorce papers for a few months, stating that she was emotionally and physically abused by the popular singer. The divorce was finalized on July 13, 2004. During this fiasco, Cristian headlined a successful tour throughout the United States, Latin America, Mexico, and Spain.

Cristian Castro married the Argentine lawyer, Valeria Liberman, on July 31, 2004 in Miami at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. His next album will be produced by Kike Santander and Rudy Perez, and is scheduled to be released between October and February.