Maracas Entertainment - TT: Maracas Entertainment - Entrevista - Artículo Breve

Latin Beat Magazine, Sept, 2001 by Haydee Vicedo

As a woman, how would you reply to the old adage that it is still a man's world, that you still have to deal with the "boy's club?" For Deborah Castillero, there was only one answer: build her own "girl's club." With that in mind, she started Maracas Entertainment and is paving the way for yet another successful woman-owned company to set new standards in the Latin and mainstream markets. Along the way, she is making sure that she's staffing Maracas with equally amazing women, including Victoria Lichtman, her Vice-President of Publicity. Sisterhood, even in the business world, is alive and well!

Raised in upstate New York by a single mother, Deborah began spending her summers in Panama with her grandmother at age seven because mom couldn't afford babysitter bills. The trips proved fruitful, as she gained more insight and love for her Panamanian culture each time she went back. She refers to this appreciation as a foundation for her career choices. Her resume reads like a woman who has followed suit with her belief in the power of the Latino/Hispanic market. She held positions at Sony Discos, Sony Music International and FOVA-Hispanic (advertising agency). As an independent consultant at Columbia Records she was instrumental in Ricky Martin's big mainstream break. Though success followed her at each stint, she knew she could accomplish much more by working independently. "Additionally," she stated, "after working all these years for a 'boys club' I really felt the need and desire to create a 'girls club' that is truly dedicated to empowering young and talented women."

Victoria is one of those talented women Deborah boasts about. A self-described "Latina at heart," one of Victoria's childhood dreams was to work with Latin artists, without knowing to what capacity. Her parents engulfed her in Latin culture and she always felt a natural kinship and affinity for it. Learning the Spanish language at a young age, she continued to pursue it throughout college out of sheer passion. Post-academics brought on assignments at mainstream entertainment mediums such as MTV, USA Network and PBS, where she not only gained valuable experience in TV and film production but also developed a vast connection pool. Unbeknownst to her, the knowledge she was gaining from these positions would eventually lead her to work in the Latin industry she always felt so strongly about. As fate would have it, Deborah would invite Victoria to work with her at Maracas Entertainment, the fledgling venture she founded.

Maracas Entertainment is an integrated Latin crossover marketing and promotion company. They provide entertainment companies with strategic direction on how to relate better to the Hispanic marketplace, including Puerto Rico, through marketing programs, radio promotion, press and publicity, and street/web/club promotion. Maracas boasts a client list that includes Columbia Tri-Star Pictures, MGM Pictures, Elektra Records and Columbia Records, among others. The company has also worked with artists Santana, Marc Anthony, and Gloria Estefan on various marketing campaigns. The swift success of the company can be attributed to the remarkable tenacity of Deborah Castillero and Victoria Lichtman. They both credit the advantage of working with strong and creative women as a source of inspiration in their work. These women ate a testament to the fact that although it is still considered a "man's world," they can carve out their own piece of history with Maracas Entertainment.

Current Projects:

* Marketing and promotion for Antonio Banderas' film, Original Sin

* Promoting Yasmin Davvids-Garrido's great new book, Empowering Latinas

* Press and promotion for music artists Joy Enriquez and Soluna

* Management of Maverick Música's Jorge Moreno

For more info: Web site: www.maracasinc.com

email: Deborah@maracasinc.com and Victoria@maracasinc.com