Charanga  Tropical

Juan Castro was born and raised in Chicago where he still resides.  Of Puerto Rican heritage, Juan first found his passion for music singing in church.  As a young choir member he found he could find harmonize any melody, a skill that would later put to great use with many bands.

In his teenage years Juan began listening to great Motown and R&B artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Stylistics, Barry White, and others.  Inspired, he began crooning, improvising, and soon was performing with area groups such as For Brothers Only and Proud.
 
In 1970 he was approached by Carlos Caribe Ruiz, then president of the community organization the Puerto Rican Congress. Ruiz recruited him for a group that would sing in the style of Latin music called salsa.  At the time, salsa was still in it's early stages in the United states.  Juan took up the challenge and together with other young musicians discovered by Mr. Ruiz, started Orquesta La Justicia.  For the group Juan reinvented himself as a salsero/bolerista. Using vocal skills and techniques learned through years of singing other styles, Juan quickly established himself on the burgeoning Chicago salsa scene.
 
While in Orquesta La Justicia Juan made his debut recording. The ensemble opened for many greats that toured through Chicago including Larry Harlow, Sonora Poncena, Tony Vega, just to name a few.  After La Justicia, Juan cofounded Orquesta Sabor, before finally settling in a steady stream of work as a coro singer for numerous salsa stars including  Adalberto Santiago, Tony Vega, Luisito Carrion, Pupi Santiago Ismael Miranda, Tito Allen, Choco Orta, Monchito Rivera, Johnny Rivera, Marvin Santiago and many others.
 
Juan first worked with Charanga Tropical on short notice for a major festival gig in 2012.  Thrilled with his work, Juan is now a key participant for the tour and recording in Havana, Cuba set for June, 2015.