| José Armando Castillo | |
| Nickname: | El Mago (the magician) |
| Nationality: | Dominican |
| National Team: | Pan American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games |
| Citizenship: | Dominican Republic |
| Birth Date: | April 2, 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Villa González |
| Residence: | North Carolina, United States |
| Years Active: | 1973-2016 |
| Height: | 6feet |
| Spouse: | Damaris Santos |
| Country: | Dominican Republic |
| Sport: | Softball, Baseball |
José Armando Castillo (José Armando Cipriano Castillo, born 2 April 1950 in Villa González, Dominican Republic) also known as El Mago (the magician), is a retired baseball and fastpitch softball pitcher[1] of the Dominican Republic National Team. He has won several gold medals in softball in various Central American and Caribbean Games and has been a national trainer in softball. He has been selected as the Softball Player of the Century in the Dominican Republic as well as added to the Corridor of Athletes of Merit of Santiago by the Sports Press Association of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. In 2016, José Armando was inducted to the Hall of Fame of the Sports of Santiago.
In 1973, El Mago participated as baseball pitcher in the first Central American and Caribbean Games of Second Cities in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In the same year, he also participated as pitcher in the XXI World Games for Amateur Baseball in Havana, Cuba.
In 1974, Castillo was part of the national team that represented the Dominican Republic in Guatemala, in an amateur tournament sponsored by the Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur, or FEMBA (World Amateur Baseball Federation). Santiago province was the one representing the country in those games.
In 1977, José Armando participated in the first tournament of Renacimiento Internacional del Sóftbol Molinete (Renaissance Fastpitch Softball Tournament), celebrated in the Dominican Republic, with the local teams Manicero, Toshiba, and Casino, a team from Puerto Rico and a team from Curaçao. Casino team where Castillo played was the winner of the tournament.
El Mago was pitcher for the National Fastpitch Softball Team of the Dominican Republic, participating in:
Continuing as a pitcher of the national team, he participated as well in the following international games, representing a vital role in the sports of the Dominican Republic as the country obtained its first medals in softball:
His successful role as a softball pitcher of the Dominican National Team continued:
During the Central American and Caribbean Games "Santiago ´86", celebrated in Santiago, Dominican Republic, José Armando Castillo had the honours of both pronouncing the Oath for the Games, and being the flag bearer of the Dominican delegation. He was also the pitcher who won the final match to attain the gold medal[5] for the Dominican Republic.[6] He was selected as the Most Outstanding Athlete of the Dominican delegation, by the then President of the Olympic Committee, Dr. José Joaquín Puello.
El Mago participated as well in many other friendly international tournaments in Colombia, United States, Venezuela, Cuba and Dominican Republic.
Castillo was Official Trainer of the National Softball Team from mid 1980´ to 2012, appointed by the Dominican Softball Federation and the Sports Ministry. In this position he covered several districts and provinces such as San Francisco de Macorís, Moca, La Vega, Puerto Plata, Bonao and Santo Domingo, among other.
In the 2000s he volunteered for about 5 years, together with the also renowned Dominican softball players, Arturo Fermín and Luis Vargas, for a free-of-charge softball training school in Santiago, with an offer covering also free training in San José de las Matas, Conuco (Moca), and Mao, among other.
He was a trainer of the Men´s and Women´s Softball National Teams of Colombia in 1983, for about two months, to prepare the teams for the upcoming Pan American Games that year.[9] The Colombian Men´s Team actually managed to beat the Dominican Team in such games.
In addition, he was a trainer of the softball leagues of the prestigious Centro Espanol Inc. club of Santiago de los Caballeros, from 2011 to 2016.
Although the nickname "El Mago" might be expected to be related to José Armando´s exceptional mastery of pitching, the source of this nickname is rather a popular Dominican belief were a person whose father dies before the person is born has the capability of curing mouth sores in kids, by just blowing some air from his mouth toward the wounds.
Given that José Armando´s father died before he was born, and given that the infants were cured after he, as a courtesy, politely blew some air on their wounds, he has always been nicknamed El Mago. José Armando himself has noted that although he is not personally superstitious, there has always been kids brought to him to be "cured" with such "spell".
The son of Ana Quisqueya Castillo and native of Villa González, José Armando worked firstly as a mechanic for the Compañía Anónima Tabacalera (tobacco industry) in Santiago de los Caballeros, from 1970 to 1999, and as a supervisor of marketing for sports events from 1990. Therefore José Armando Castillo had to alternate his passion for sports with a full-time job.[10]
El Mago has three grown children: José Vladimir, with Milagros Méndez; and Scarlett María and José Armando from his marriage with the former banker Daisy Agramonte. He currently lives in North Carolina, United States, and is married with the also outstanding Dominican-American softball player, Damaris Santos.
It is surprising for many that an athlete with the achievements of José Armando Castillo has not yet been inducted to the Hall of Fame of the Dominican Sport (Pabellón de la Fama del Deporte Dominicano). His career is exceptional, having been softball pitcher of the Dominican National Team that earned the first gold and bronze medals (including undefeated gold in Mexico) in Central American and Caribbean Games for the country; and also having dedicated more than 40 years to the development of both softball and baseball for future generations through trainings and representations all around the country and abroad.