Castro, Tony 1946–

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Castro, Tony 1946–

(Antonio Castro)

PERSONAL: Born December 2, 1946, in Waco, TX; son of Antonio, Sr. and Mary (Veracruz) Castro; married Mary Nell Walker (a secretary), July 22, 1968 (separated). Education: Baylor University, B.A., 1970; Washington Journalism Center, graduate study, spring, 1971. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis (tournament player), sailing, bullfighting, professional football, sports cars.

ADDRESSES: Home—1420 Hawthorne, Houston, TX 77006. Office—Houston Post, 4747 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77001.

CAREER: Dallas Times Herald, Dallas, TX, reporter, 1970–71; Dallas Morning News, Dallas, political reporter, 1971–73; KERA-Television (affiliate of Public Broadcasting System), Dallas, producer of a documentary film on the Farah labor organizing struggle, 1973, producer and reporter, 1973–74; Houston Post, Houston, TX, political reporter, 1974–.

AWARDS, HONORS: Dallas Press Club awards for news reporting, 1971, and feature writing, 1972; political reporting award from Headliners Club of Austin, TX, 1973; Pulitzer Prize nomination, Columbia University, 1973, for series of stories on Chicano political development.

WRITINGS:

Chicano Power: The Emergence of Mexican-America, Saturday Review Press (New York, NY), 1974.

Mickey Mantle: America's Prodigal Son, Brassey's (Washington, DC), 2002.

Contributor to magazines and newspapers, including Saturday Review, Texas Observer, Boston Globe, and Washington Post. Contributing editor, Race Relations Reporter.

SIDELIGHTS: It was not until the second grade that Tony Castro learned to speak English. His early problems with the language may have been an underlying motivation for his desire to go into journalism and write seriously. When he was ten, a schoolteacher gave him a paperback copy of The Old Man and the Sea to read when he "grew older." He read it that same year and became an instant Hemingway buff. He later said that he considers Hemingway, Mailer, Faulkner, Gay Talese, and Steinbeck to be the cornerstones of his literary interests.

While the book Chicano Power: The Emergence of Mexican-America may have served as a personal catharsis for Castro, he himself has remained detached from the Chicano movement. He writes: "As a journalist, you're suspect enough without endangering your credibility. For a black or Chicano journalist to become involved in movements would be professionally suicidal. As a writer, I would hope that my work transcends my personal outrage and bitterness to achieve some semblance of literary meaning."