Joseph Richard Castel

Joe Castel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in the discipline of Communication Studies from the University of Iowa where he studied television production, Chicano Cinema, screenwriting and theatre. As a writer, Mr. Castel, worked primarily as a public relations consultant and reporter for entertainment magazines for the past 20 years. Mr. Castel produced a documentary about the migration of his family from Mexico to Silvis, Illinois. This documentary is part of the permanent collection at the Art Institute of Chicago.

In 2010, Mr. Castel produced and co-wrote the play The Blvd with Danny De La Paz, a comedy about a Latino gay hustler who tries to make it in Hollywood. It received critical recognition in it's six week run at the Macha Theatre in West Hollywood.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting awarded Turtle Back Productions a development grant for Mr. Castel and director Jesus Trevino to co-write the screenplay, Hero Street, a true story about eight Mexican American war heroes from one small street in Silvis, Illinois. Mr. Castel is currently working on a documentary of the life of Jose Sarria. He is also writing the novel, Hero Street, set to be published later this year.