Mr. Norristown is a memorable night for senior boys to express, or even embarrass, themselves in front of loving friends and family. Produced by Blue and White Society, and hosted by Luke Warren and Camila Villanuéva-Selgaro, this year’s Mr. Norristown took the audience and judges on a wild, exciting, and emotional theatrical journey.
This year, the crown was brought home by Rafael Avelino Castillo. When the hosts announced his name, the crowd exploded with excitement and praise. Contestants, stage crew, backup dancers, and everyone involved in the Mr. Norristown experience crowded Avelino Castillo with his big accomplishment.
Avelino Castillo credits his singers Rosalia Morga, Jaden Pullman, and Gabriel Innocent; his bandmates Lucas Longerberger, Alfredo Frias, and Eddie Fisher; and his backup dancers Ava Sigel and Makyla Harrell for his success.
“That experience to work on something together to display to the whole school, the whole community, was something special,” he said.
When Avelino was giving out his appreciation speech, he made sure to thank fellow contestant and longtime friend Paul Frias for all his support as well.
“It seemed to me personally that any time I sang with him, I sang better,” Avelino Castillo said. “I just love performing with him.”
The event starts off strong with an opening act showcasing the contestants and their strong personalities on the NAHS stage. The event consisted of five categories featuring formal wear, casual wear, swimwear, the talent part (everyone’s favorite part of the event), and lastly, a Q&A. Family was a major theme throughout the formal wear portion, as Frias was accompanied by his little cousin, Alexis Rosas De La Luz and Jahir Ramirez were brought on by their little sisters, and Avelino Castillo was escorted by his mom. The crowd ate up these heartwarming moments.
The swimwear section is always the perfect opportunity to get Suntan lotion thrown into your face or have someone in a banana costume chase you off the stage.
I’ve never seen so much energy in a room full of people like that which the talent portion of the pageant delivered. The room’s atmosphere was exhilarating and each performance captivated the audience in its own unique way. Frias started off strong by performing modern rock music from the Strokes to Arctic Monkeys along with his band Long Season.
“I was really proud of my bandmates. They put in a lot of work, and I’m really happy,” said Frias of his performance. “I wouldn’t say it was a dream, but it’s definitely one of the best experiences in my life.”
Tyler Pierre followed Frias’s concert with a music mashup of genres, featuring Pitbull to Kanye, with a little “Barbie Girl” in between. While every other contestant performed familiar songs almost everyone knew, Pierre made his mark by performing his own original songs “Lover’s Avenue” and “Forbidden Romance.” The self-proclaimed “Uncrowned Prince of Norristown” would stay uncrowned, but his confidence would not change.
“It’s not the people who make you royal, it’s yourself,” said Pierre.
Rosas De La Luz showcased the genres of Latin and alternative rock with a live performance, grabbing the crowd in the end with The Cranberries’ major hit, “Zombie.” His talent wasn’t just in our heads.
“I just have a passion for music, and I wanted to showcase that,” Rosas De La Luz said.
Jaden Crutchfield made runner-up with his recreated performance of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. The NAHS auditorium quickly became a concert that was full of crowds cheering and yelling, holding up signs and posters that said, “We heart Jendrick Lamar.”
“’Alright’ is my favorite song of all time, and I always wanted to do something like that,” said Crutchfield, who found choreographing a complicated dance for several people to be the most challenging aspect. “At the end of the day, everybody locked in, everybody showed up.”
Derrel Johnson, or should I say Derrel the Creator, took inspiration from Tyler the Creator’s “Chromokopia” and made it his own. He took his role as Tyler pretty seriously, considering he put on a blonde weave. Johnson took advantage of every second of his performance by incorporating his own dance moves and even called upon fellow contestants Crutchfield, Pierre, and Frias to provide backup dancing. It’s safe to say Johnson’s performance wouldn’t have been what it was without his strong confidence and personality . . . and a little help from his friends.
“Happiness and nervousness” were the feelings that Johnson took into his performance, after which he said proudly, “I was really happy that my hard work really paid off.”
Carrying the theme of recreating famous performances, Jason Jones sang “Poker Face” by . . . nope, not Lady Gaga . . . South Park’s Eric Cartman! NAHS students Valery Alcala Serafin and Zoe Alvarado backed Jones’ comedic performance as Kyle and Stan, respectively. No one could read his poker face with that costume. He definitely brought the gaga Ooh la la essence that the audience wasn’t expecting.
“I’m actually [expletive deleted] doing this,” said Jones. “Valery and Zoe, they’re really cool, and they joined me last minute, cause my original plan was just going up in the costume, and winging it, but they came on, learned a whole new dance in like a week, and it was so freaking cool.”
Ramirez started ramping up the crowd and danced to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” but it was really the choreography during his second song “Intentalo” that was a crowd favorite. To finish off his performance, he danced to “Baby Shark”-I mean “California Gurls.” Ramirez sure knows how to pull off a rainbow wig, and of course, we can’t forget the awesome backflipping shark!
“It was just amazing to know that I had friends by my side, and you know, all the work that was done,” said Ramirez. But he wasn’t always confident about a performance that shined his personality. “I thought I was about to go out there and look dumb, but that’s just me, like the wig and everything, that’s all me. I’m me and I don’t care what anyone thinks, and simple as that,” he said.
We can’t forget about our newly crowned Mr. Norristown. Avelino Castillo started off his performance with Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower.” The crowd was beyond hyped, singing along the entire time, holding their phone flashlights up in the air and hanging onto every lyric that he sang. The highlight of this beautiful performance came in the high notes that capped off the song. The second and final song he sang was “Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan. The choreography certainly tied his performance all together.
“Adrenaline, utterly and everything” ran through Avelino Castillo’s mind during his performance. “I was really proud of all the work that we all put into just making the song all come together, creating with our band, my backup singers. I was most proud of what we are.”
The energy was still riding high as the night came to an end, even after Sabor Latino’s performance after intermission. Mr. Norristown 2025 left everyone blissful and filled with excitement. 2026 better put everything it has on stage next year if it wants to leave a memorable mark on its audience.
