Broad & High Presents: The Castros
Sara Castro (vocals, guitar) and Marco Castro (piano, glockenspiel, electric guitar) met in Savannah, Georgia where they fell in love. Sara played guitar and sang as a personal hobby and taught Marco how to play guitar while they were dating.
After getting married, Marco Castro encouraged Sara Castro to perform in public and they formed the band The Castros in April 2009 writing songs with a blend of indie, alternative, pop and folk influences.
Savannah
Savannah is about the city where Sara and Marco’s love story began. Marco lived in Savannah, Georgia and Sara was visiting her best friend when they were introduced to each other. The two quickly fell in love and maintained a long-distance relationship until they got married a year later. The city remains as a special place in their hearts.
Warriors Of Love
Warriors Of Love is a personal song for Sara. She often observed people in her life being hurt by the people that should love them most. The song is a call for people to be a “warrior of love” that spreads love and kindness into the world.
The song breaks out of their typical soft indie sounds with distorted electric guitar as they experiment with sounds to unleash their creativity.
This World
This World is one of the first songs the two wrote which touches upon the themes of “fitting in” and social pressure. One day, Sara noticed a seagull flying outside her window and felt a spiritual connection through nature. In that moment, Sara had an epiphany and says “nature does what it does without all the masking and internal conflict we endure by our constant need to ‘fit in’ at the cost of losing ourselves in the process.”
Follow The Band
Meet The Musicians
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Sara and Marco Castro.
Interview with The Castros
Sara and Marco answer some quick questions about their most popular music video, their favorite Columbus venue, and their preferred local ice cream.
Give Us The Lowdown On Your Sound
We always find it difficult to describe it specifically. We draw from a lot of random influences, but we say it’s indie with hints of singer-songwriter, alternative, pop and folk. We like to experiment with new sounds though, and hopefully we can convey that a little more in our upcoming album. We just hope it’s uplifting, encouraging and fun to listen to.
The Origin Story
Sara: We met in Savannah, Georgia through my best friend who knew us both (we actually have a song about it). I played a little guitar on my own, wrote a handful of songs, but [I] never played out. After getting married, Marco encouraged me to get out and perform, and that’s when The Castros started (around April 2009).
Marco: She actually taught me how to play guitar! I remember our first show was at Crimson Cup Clintonville and we barely knew what we were doing.
Sara: Art plays a very large role in my life. I create art and make illustrations on a daily basis alongside music. I enjoy using it to express my heart. In fact, art goes hand in hand with the creation of our music. For example, I created the album artwork of our last EP first, and then we finished the album. Both feed from each other and are equally important for me
I have an Etsy shop called Fox And Beans where I do cartoon portraits for people, original art illustration or stickers. People can follow it on socials @FoxAndBeans.
Marco: I was born and raised in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. [It’s] a city full of people of tons of backgrounds. My mom was born in Colombia and as an immigrant herself [in Costa Rica], I grew up as one, too, in a way. So after moving to the US (Georgia and then to Ohio), I realized how diverse and rich each region in the US is as well, and it helped me understand myself better.
I grew up listening to everything from Salsa, Cumbia, Rock in Spanish, and Pop, but mostly whatever was on the radio. The choices were limited. However, when I was in high school the internet became more available. As a result, I was able to access new music thanks to MP3s and friends burning CDs for me. I got into Punk, Ska, Hardcore, Reggae, Metal and just about anything I could get a hold of that had good lyrics and great sound.
I then started to put on shows and promote my friend’s bands. I did some music journalism and basically fell in love with that aspect of the business early on before I could even play anything. I realized how important and vital music and arts are for people. So, all this definitely influences our music as it encourages us to try out-of-the-box things. We also have songs in Spanglish!