Photo from Pedro Castro
Enrollment in Moraine Valley has provided many students with the skills to be successful and former Glacier editor Pedro Castro is one of those successes.
Today you can easily find Castro online as a part of his work in the comedy company Big Dog Eat Child which he directs, and includes his brother, Ramiro Castro, and his best friends. The company has produced numerous Internet videos including the viral video “Jones Big Ass Truck Rental and Storage” which, to date, has received over 3.5 million views on Youtube. In addition, their video “What Up Little Kid!?” has been named as an official selection in the Los Angeles Comedy Festival.
Castro was The Glacier’s graphics editor from 2001-2002. In 2002, the Illinois Community College Journalism Association (ICCJA) recognized the Glacier as the third place winner in graphic design. Individually, he was also recognized by ICCJA as the third place winner in News Graphic Design.
After Moraine, Castro transferred to UIC where he worked as a staff writer for the school newspaper, the Chicago Flame. At this time he also became a freelance writer for Star Newspapers and the Daily Southtown. More recently Castro was the social media consultant for the Chicago Tribune, and is currently an assembly editor for the music television show JBTV.
Castro’s time at the Glacier served as an essential step in his development, noting that it helped him learn to work under pressure in a group. “The biggest lesson I learned was to roll with the punches,” he said. “There was no reason to get pissed because the stuff we were doing was hard anyway. What I learned the most is that you can be demanding of yourself and your collaborators without being a screaming jerk.”
“Let me say this, I wish Moraine Valley was a four-year school. I loved my experiences and the relationships I made there. They were essential in my development as a writer, director and filmmaker,” said Castro.
You can find the previously mentioned videos as well as live performances and a particularly poignant documentation of the pain of Cubs fans at Big Dog Eat Child’s website bigdogeatchild.com or at youtube.com/bigdogeatchild. You can also check out JBTVonline.com to see other work he has done.
