| Verónica Castro | |
|---|---|
| Born | Verónica Judith Sáenz Castro [1] October 19, 1952 Mexico City, Distrito Federal |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Children | Cristian Castro, Michelle Sáinz Castro |
| Awards | Silver Goddess Award (2002) |
Verónica Castro (Spanish pronunciation: [beˈɾonika ˈkastɾo]) (born October 19, 1952) is a Mexican actress, singer and television host. She is the mother of singer Cristian Castro and filmmaker Michelle Sáinz Castro and the sister of actress Beatriz Castro, and telenovela producer José Alberto Castro.
She started her career as a television actress, where she met Manuel Valdez "El Loco", father of her son Cristian Castro, and in fotonovelas and telenovelas while earning her degree in international relations.
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Veronica's first brush with fame came appearing nude in Caballero Magazine, a men's magazine published in Mexico City, when she was only 16 years of age. She recorded her first album in 1978, a self-titled album, releasing three hit singles from it; these were "Mi Pequeño Ciclón", "Soy Celosa", and "Yo Quisiera Señor Locutor". The following year, she recorded another hit record with "Aprendí A Llorar" and famed Mexican producer, composer and singer Juan Gabriel penned the hit single, "Adios" especially for her, which became very popular.
After appearing in a series of films and telenovelas (El Edificio de Enfrente in 1974 and Barata de Primavera in 1978, among others) her career took off with Los ricos también lloran, playing a poor orphan, with Rogelio Guerra and Rocío Banquells. This telenovela became a success in Latin America, Spain, Croatia, Italy, France, Israel, Russia, China and the Philippines. The success of this story brought her new found fame with her single, "Aprendí A Llorar". The following hit was "San Francisco De Asis".
Two years later she played the main role in the telenovela version of El derecho de nacer. Because of her expanding fame as a world artist, she started recording her music in different languages and began to tour the world and perform in diverse venues.
In 1986 she performed in the Latin version of "We Are The World". She also released one of her most ambitious albums to date, "Simplemente Todo". The top selling singles were "Oye Tu", "Simplemente Todo" and "Macumba". She accompanied her singles with videos, becoming one of the pioneers of the MTV age in Latin America. She recorded the music video "Macumba". She worked in telenovelas in Argentina and Italy.
In 1987 her career got a huge boost internationally when she played the main character in Rosa salvaje alongside Guillermo Capetillo and Laura Zapata. The theme song for that telenovela, also named "Rosa salvaje", became one of her biggest hits. As her CD, "Reina de la noche", topped the charts and her soap opera became one of the world's best selling stories to date, she released another #1 single, "Mala noche no".
In 1990 Castro participated in Mi pequeña Soledad alongside Omar Fierro and July Furlong, where she had to play both a 40-year-old victim of rape who became pregnant and later was paralyzed in a car crash, and her 20-year-old daughter, the "Soledad" of the title, who was the product of the rape. Castro recorded the hit song "Mi Pequeña Soledad" and it became a world wide phenomenon. The ballad opened new markets and became her theme song. She began the television series, "La Movida", which was sung also in Italian and English. After the success of the single a maxi-single and 12" mix were leaked to radio and clubs. In 1993, she starred in the unsucessful telenovela Valentina with Juan Ferrara and the "Queen of Salsa", Celia Cruz.
In 1997 Castro re-emerged successfully with a new CD and a new television show. The CD was produced by A.B. Quintanilla, famed for his production of all the Selena CDs. She filmed the most controversial music video in her career, "Pena De Amor Y Muerte". The video included some nudity, and the song was featured on the soundtrack of the telenovela Pueblo chico, Infierno grande. The story line, from the early nineteenth century, was based on a real life drama, the story of Leonarda Ruan. Other cast members are Juan Soler and Alma Delfina. She incorporated regional Mexican music, rancheras, pop, dance-techno, country and hip hop beats.
In 1999 Castro recorded her last pop CD, "Ave Vagabundo", by famed composer and producer Ana Gabriel. She included several dance mixes of her hit singles, "Sacudelo" and "Zumbalo". Castro toured various countries in support of CD, the biggest success included Argentina, Italy and America.
During the 1990s she began hosting variety shows, and has continued to do so since. Her son, Cristian, is a teen idol singer across Latin America and the United States, She, and Christian's father, Manuel Valdés, have never married. Castro's private life has become fodder for paparazzi photographers and gossip magazines.
In 2006 she recorded "Por Esa Puerta". For the first time it was released only in Mexico, becoming a best-seller internationally. It was only available through the Internet and importation of the CD. When the CD arrived in the United States, it became the most sought after CD in her career. Castro has never had a barrier in what musical direction she takes, and thus she has covered a wide array of styles, from pop/rock, Mexican regional country music-rancheras, boleros, banda/norteno to Spanish, English and Italian. "Por Esa Puerta" did not prove to be a disappointment to fans because it neglected some markets, but it broadened the regional Mexican country music to other pop lovers as Alejandro Fernandez or Pepe Aguilar have done successfully.
In 2008 Verónica Castro returned to the stage with Chiquita Pero Picosa, a remake of a production in which she had appeared in the 1980s. She also filmed an episode of "Mujeres Asesinas" in which she played a killer. The episode was critically acclaimed.
In 2009 Verónica Castro went back to telenovelas, and left her native Mexico for Argentina to film the telenovela Los Exitosos Pérez. It premiered in Mexico on August 30, 2009.
For her work in television, theater, movies and in the recording industry, Castro's handprints are imbedded at the Paseo de las Luminarias in Mexico City.