“I want to be the person that’s like, ‘It’s okay to make mistakes,’
because that’s life, and you learn from your mistakes. That’s what
makes you who you are and that’s what builds character.”
- Actress and singer Raquel Castro
Raquel Castro, continued from page 17
(Film Festival) and it won the Audience
Award which we are super excited about.
SM: That is so great. Congratulations!
When is it going to be released?
RC: Right now I think they are just bringing
it around the festivals, but the fact that it
premiered in South by Southwest; that is
like the biggest film festival ever. That was
really cool to hear. I wish I could have went
to Texas to see that but I think they are just
going to kind of make their way around
with the festivals and just get different
opinions and stuff. I’m not really sure the
process of when they are going to actually
release it but I will definitely keep you up
to date with that. That was a really cool
opportunity and the storyline is great. It’s
about immigration and about how kids
who are brought into this country from
such a young age, they don’t really make
that choice to be an illegal immigrant. And
then when they grow up, the storyline is
basically, we are high school kids going
into college and we are trying to get in
but we don’t have papers. And it’s like no
one asked us if we wanted to be an illegal
immigrant. We came from nowhere; we
don’t know where we came from. We were
brought over by our parents. It is a really
powerful message.
SM: Where can our audience go to see the
trailer for it?
RC: FromNowhereFilm.com. They can get
all of the information on there.
SM: I know our audience would definitely
like to see what you have coming
up. Having an entire career in the
entertainment industry from being young,
to being an adult. It seems like you really
have stayed on the straight and narrow.
I think you are a great positive person to
show that you can transition from being a
kid to being an adult (in the entertainment
industry). Where do you think your drive
comes from to make these positive choices
that you have been making?
RC: I think having a great support system.
My family has always kept me grounded.
After I did “Jersey Girl,” I was nine when
“Jersey Girl” came out, and I was offered
two Disney shows. It would have been
great to do that, I probably would be in a
different place that I am right now. But my
parents didn’t force me and I didn’t want
28 | THE POWER ISSUE
to do it and move to California. I didn’t
want to be home schooled. I wanted to go
to regular school. The fact that they let
me make my own decisions and let me be
a regular kid, I got to grow up and I got to
make my own mistakes, without millions
of people watching me and judging me.
When you have these young kids growing
up in this industry, with, there’s so much
money and access to bad things. When
you are doing that in front of the world,
and then you have people commenting
on every single move that you make, like
its basically like they are talking about
their own life. I think that’s when it gets
hard and you feel so much pressure. So
the fact that I got to I think grow up as a
regular kid back at home where I grew
up with family, definitely had a big part
of it and I don’t think I would go back and
change that for anything because I think
that if I would have went from “Jersey Girl”
to doing a Disney show, and who knows
what after that, I don’t think I would be
the same person with the same morals
and values. I think that definitely has a
big part of it. Not taking everything so
seriously as well, because I feel like, in this
industry nowadays, what some I guess you
would call them “role models,” portraying
themselves to be perfect, and I don’t really
think that’s what a role model should be
putting out there. I think that a role model
is someone that if they make a mistake
they own up to it. I want to be like the big
sister to other people. Whether it’s for
guys or girls, it doesn’t matter. But I want
to be the person that’s like, “It’s okay to
make mistakes,” because that’s life, and
you learn from your mistakes. That’s what
makes you who you are and that’s what
builds character. That’s something that I
always wanted to really stay connected
with, is just being an honest person and
being relatable. I’m not walking around
with my nose in the air thinking that I am
better than everyone else, because I’m
not. Everyone wakes up in the morning,
they take a shower, they do their business
(laughing), we are all humans. And I
think that’s what people need to start
remembering. that everyone is human.
Just because you may have more money
than someone else or you may be on the
TV screen that doesn’t make you better
than anybody else. That’s something I think
people really need to start remembering.
SM: I love the way you put that. I don’t
really like the label model either and the
fact that you put it as “a big sister,” to
these kids, that’s such a great way to say
that. This is the “Power Issue,” so we just
wanted to see, and I think you already
answered this, but what do you think has
been your most powerful decision that
really changed the game for you.
RC: I think my most powerful decision in
his industry, I made a really wise decision
at ten years old and I am going to bring
it back to what I was saying before, to
decide to grow up as a regular kid and
take a break from this business and realize
that timing is everything and that God
has a plan. Some people will just be so
scared that their career is going to peak
and they are just going to do everything
they can to stay on top and then you never
know what’s going to happen after that.
I always believe that if I was meant to be
in this industry, that I would be. If I wanted
to go be a kid I could always come back,
and be an adult in this industry, and like I
said make my own mistakes and figure out
who I am. I am still c [