The big, red curtains pull apart, and at the center of the stage, with beaming lights, is Rafael Avelino Castillo. The stage is one of the many places you can find him, whether it’s the one at Norristown Area High School or Theatre Horizon.
Through his many acting opportunities, Avelino has centered his pursuits through hard work and dedication.
“You learn your music wherever you can,” he said. “When I got choreography, I used to do it at school when we weren’t doing anything in choir. I tried learning it then, cause I gotta find time somewhere. It’s hard work honestly, and nothing comes easy. You gotta find the balance, there’s no easy way to it, there’s no cheat codes, you just have to find time.”
In fifth grade, Avelino auditioned for his middle school musical. He managed to blow away the competition by singing, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” landing him the main role. Throughout the practice of the musical, he started to notice his growing love and passion for acting and singing. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that he would perform in his first professional musical. The day of his performance, it became concrete. Avelino was made to perform.
“The scaffolding was 3 feet high, so I’m at the top and everyone is at the bottom. I was scared out of my mind, but that feeling you feel, like you’re on top of the world feels incredible,” he said. “To see how much your hard work paid off.”
Avelino would go on to perform in several stage productions in and outside of school, such as “Town” for Theater Horizon, “A Christmas Carol” for People’s Light Theater, “Frozen,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Spongebob The Musical,” “Don Quixote,” for Montgomery Theater, and “Chicago” and “Theory of Relativity” for the high school.
Avelino has an open heart when it comes to family and friends. To him, it doesn’t matter if you’re blood-related or not. Family is more than that, and friends can equally have that same connection, qualifying under the label of “family.”
Still, Avelino has never once disregarded his parents’ sacrifice and perseverance. After all, Avelino is just a teen trying to get through school to reach his dream.
“My biggest dream is being able to make enough money so that I can provide for my parents, so that I’m able to allow them the opportunity to go back to Mexico, cause that’s what they’ve always dreamed of,” he said. “I just want to be able to repay them for all that they’ve done for me.”
When meeting Avelino for the first time, you see an outgoing person with lots of confidence, no matter what challenges may occur, but that wasn’t always the case. Throughout his years in high school, he matured. Most of all, he has found a way to keep pushing past all criticisms and self-doubt, learning the hard way to maintain his self-esteem and self-worth.
“I guess I’m confident because the people I surround myself with make me feel good about myself,” he explained. “They don’t bring me down, and you also have to reflect, and realize you’re worth it.”
At long last, Avelino is bound to end his senior year with a bang. His freshman aspiration of being on stage competing for Mr. Norristown is quickly turning into reality. With that being said, he is not letting anyone’s critiques or opinions stop him from giving it his all.
Avelino cooly expressed, “Talk your talk that’s fine, but that’s not going to change anything.”
