MIAMI - Latino artist Mauro Castillo is going through a transformation, and his experiences as a singer in Colombia's salsa institution Grupo Niche or even being part of the cast of Disney's 'Encanto' may have prepared him for just this very moment, as he embodies two Cuban men whose influence traveled far beyond the island, even if history did not always place them at the center of the story.
The Colombian singer and actor is currently touring the United States as Ibrahim Ferrer in Buena Vista Social Club, the Tony and Grammy-winning musical inspired by the veteran Cuban musicians behind the landmark album. On Nov. 4, he will appear in Prime Video's Muhammad Ali series The Greatest as Luis Sarria, the Cuban trainer, masseur, and cornerman credited with helping preserve the boxer's body throughout his legendary career.
For Castillo, the two roles connect through more than nationality. Both Ferrer and Sarria were exceptionally skilled men whose contributions became essential to the success of globally recognized figures and cultural movements. Their stories also reflect migration, perseverance, and the ability to begin again after life appears to have closed a door.
"There is so much that Cuba has contributed to the world in different disciplines," Castillo told this reporter ahead of his presentation in Miami's Arsh Center.
Castillo is portraying the older Ibrahim Ferrer on the first North American tour of Buena Vista Social Club. Jaleel Battles Jr., who appeared in the Tony and Grammy-winning Broadway production, plays the singer in his younger years, as the musical moves between Havana in the 1950s and the recording sessions of the 1990s that introduced Ferrer and his collaborators to international audiences.
The touring company is led by Karmine Alers as Omara, Frank Rodríguez as Compay, Castillo as Ibrahim and Robert M. Jiménez as Rubén. The cast also includes Isabel Gonzalez as Young Omara, Aidan Olmo as Young Compay, Battles as Young Ibrahim, Cuban pianist Irving Aday O'Connor as Young Rubén, San Miguel Pérez as Eliades, Liana Morales as Young Haydee and Holiday as Juan de Marcos.
The tour launched in Buffalo, New York, with performances from Sept. 12 through Sept. 19 before moving to the Durham Performing Arts Center in North Carolina from Sept. 22 through Sept. 27. Castillo spoke from Durham, where he said performances for the week had sold out.
The production will then begin an extended Florida run, playing Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center from Sept. 29 through Oct. 4, Tampa's Straz Center from Oct. 6 through Oct. 11, the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale from Oct. 13 through Oct. 18 and Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center from Oct. 20 through Oct. 25.
The tour will continue through Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans and other cities before moving across the Midwest and West Coast in 2027. Scheduled stops include San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Nashville, Charlotte, Cleveland and Chicago, where the currently announced itinerary concludes in September 2027.
For Castillo, the tour represents a different type of encounter with American audiences. He previously traveled extensively with Grupo Niche and his solo project, but those performances were primarily aimed at Latino music fans. Buena Vista Social Club is introducing him to theatergoers of different ages and cultural backgrounds.
"This is an audience that is somehow demonstrating all the influence this music had in the 1950s and 1960s, and then the renaissance it experienced when Buena Vista Social Club returned to the mainstream," Castillo said. "We see audiences of every age attending the shows."
An artist playing an artist
Ferrer had largely retired from professional music and was reportedly shining shoes to supplement his pension when he was invited to participate in the sessions that produced the Buena Vista Social Club album. Its unexpected international success gave him the solo career and global recognition that had eluded him for decades. His first solo album under the Buena Vista banner arrived in 1999, when he was in his 70s.
The story of an artist receiving another opportunity late in life resonates deeply with Castillo.
"Sometimes I have also believed, during moments in my career when I've had to be patient, that everything has already been done," he said. "You wonder whether there is only one path and, if you don't take that path, then maybe it isn't going to happen."
Castillo said he reached the production through an open audition, not because of his credits with Grupo Niche or his role as Félix in Disney's Encanto. Some members of the team only discovered his connection to "We Don't Talk About Bruno" after he had secured the role and rehearsals were underway.
"That's how Broadway works," he said. "You don't arrive saying, 'Hello, I'm this person and I've done all these things.' You arrive and do the work."
The Cali native believes growing up in Colombia's salsa capital gave him an instinctive understanding of Ferrer's musical world. Castillo was surrounded by salsa, bolero, mambo and cha-cha-cha, as well as the music of Cuban performers such as Beny Moré and singers from Santiago de Cuba.
He also brought his classical training to the audition. Castillo studied opera and describes himself as a naturally curious performer who researches the history surrounding a character instead of relying only on imitation.
"What helps you give a good performance is understanding the character and everything around him," Castillo said.
The hands that cared for Muhammad Ali
That same curiosity guided his preparation to play Luis Sarria in The Greatest, Prime Video's first authorized scripted series about Muhammad Ali. The eight-episode limited series will premiere globally Nov. 4, with all episodes available that day in more than 240 countries and territories.
Castillo is part of a cast that includes Jaalen Best stars as Cassius Clay, who later became Muhammad Ali. Omari Hardwick and Dana Gourrier play his parents, Cassius "Cash" Clay Sr. and Odessa "Bird" Clay, while Kai Parham portrays his brother, Rudy Clay. Amin Joseph appears as Sonny Liston, and Michael Ealy as Malcolm X and Giovanni Ribisi.
Ben Watkins serves as creator, showrunner and executive producer. The project is also executive produced by Ali's widow, Lonnie Ali, and Michael B. Jordan through his Outlier Society production company. Developed with the backing of Ali's estate, the series promises to explore not only the victories and defeats that defined his boxing career, but also the relationships and private moments that shaped the man behind the public persona.
Sarria was a Cuban boxer who eventually became a trainer, physical conditioner, masseur and cornerman. He worked with Ali for most of the champion's professional career and was posthumously inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013. Boxing figures close to Ali sometimes described Sarria as the fighter's "real trainer" because of the work he performed away from the cameras.
Castillo said Sarria had been a talented boxer himself, but "physical limitations and malnutrition prevented him from absorbing enough punishment to build a sustainable career in the ring. He later found another way to make his knowledge indispensable," the Colombian actor explained.
After emigrating from Cuba, Sarria worked around Miami's boxing community and eventually joined the gym where the young Cassius Clay trained. Castillo said the Cuban noticed that Clay's celebrated movement resembled elements of the footwork traditionally taught to Cuban fighters.
"He saw the style with which Ali moved his feet, and it was a Cuban style," Castillo said. "People don't mention that very often, but it has a great deal to do with the island."
Preparing for Sarria also required Castillo to understand the trainer's isolation. Sarria never became fluent in English, and Castillo described him as a quiet, solitary figure whose inability to communicate could cause him to withdraw in unfamiliar environments. "When you are in a country and you don't have the ability to speak the language, you begin to make yourself smaller," Castillo said.
That part of Sarria's experience turned the role into a broader story about immigration and the contributions Latinos have made to the United States, often without receiving public recognition."It shows that resilience and that ability to demonstrate what you know how to do with enormous responsibility," Castillo said. "It also helps people become aware of the role Latinos have played and what we have always contributed to building this country."
Castillo revealed that he filmed some of Sarria's scenes twice, once in English and once in Spanish, because the production had not yet determined how the character's language would ultimately be presented.
From Ferrer's boleros to Sarria's work in Ali's corner, Castillo sees both characters as part of the same larger history: two Cuban men whose knowledge, discipline and perseverance helped shape cultural icons.
By bringing them to the stage and screen, the Encanto star is doing more than expanding his own international career. He is helping move two extraordinary supporting figures into the spotlight they helped create for others.
