Meet Solange Castro: A Comedian-Turned Salsa Dancer-Turned Comedian, who performs for women.
Solange Castro, performs standup comedy, writes plays and a blog, and has a web series entitled “Teaching Comics to Dance Salsa.”
Castro took a break from comedy after feeling overwhelmed, but found new confidence and inspiration. “I began performing standup comedy 24 years ago. It was so hard and overwhelming and I didn’t feel I could ever succeed at it. So I stopped and eventually worked in advertising. I also became obsessed with salsa dancing, which I have done for 12 years. I think salsa helped me release something, and after a while I returned to standup comedy. I just started writing jokes and going to open mics, it felt very organic and not really like a ‘choice.’ I also wrote a play about dating called ‘Changes In The Mating Strategies of White People.’ I realized that comedy and salsa are the two passion pillars that make life wonderful.”
Castro, who finds inspiration from other women, also tailors her content to her gender. She writes, “My audience is women. I am happy if men find me funny, but I really want to reach women. Sometimes after a show young women hug me and it feels like the biggest win and keeps me going. I think a lot of male comics want to dominate the room, but for me, I just want to be an older sister, or that co-worker to whom you can tell anything.” Her attitude of community and encouragement is refreshing.
To all the women trying to make it in comedy (or any entrepreneurial venture!) Castro advises against jealousy: “It is very easy to feel jealous of other people’s careers. It can be crazy because this is a field where you have very little, if any, control. All you can do is keep working hard, write better jokes, get closer to something that has never been said before. Show business operates by insane rules and is not a reflection of your worth. You have to love the craft and want to connect with an audience. And that has to be the reward you really seek. That said, there is nothing wrong with commercial success.”
We can resonate with her advice to “love your craft.” If your work is a reward, jealousy is obsolete!
