The Richmond Register

Local News

September 11, 2012

Local one of six left on ‘America’s Got Talent’

By Ronica Shannon Senior News Writer

RICHMOND — Madison County’s Joe Castillo is one of the final six competitors on America’s Got Talent.

The show’s final competition will air Wednesday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Fans may vote for him after the show at www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/vote or call the phone number given out during the broadcast.

Castillo, a 64-year-old Richmond resident, said he tried out for the show in Austin, Texas, because he wanted to share his stories with a larger audiences.

His talent is making storyboards out of sand that is poured onto a lighted table.

Eight years ago, Castillo went to Lowe’s to purchase some mulch, but that day he also was inspired to bring home a bag of sand.

“One of the bags had been ripped open, and you could see the footprints from where people had walked in it,” he said.

At the time, Castillo was pastoring Northridge Church in Richmond and was trying to come up with a new art piece for the Easter season.

That’s when he did his first sand story on a table with a light fixture in it.

And his unique talent has taken him all the way to the America’s Got Talent finals.

“What makes this so hard is that I am facing some incredibly talented acts, and they all are really nice people,” he said. “I feel that God has opened the door for me, and although I have not had the freedom to tell the stories I have wanted to tell, my stage has expanded to include a worldwide audience.”

The show’s winner gets $1 million and the possibility of having their own live show in Las Vegas.

“Although the prize has never been my goal, if I am given the responsibility of that large sum, my intention is to fund a retreat for young artists and help them become salt and light in a dark and tasteless world,” Castillo said.

One of Castillo’s AGT performances can be viewed online at www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/contestants/joe-castillo/.

His personal website is www.joecastillo.com.

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