A.J. Castro was born in San Jose Costa Rica, a Virgo by every sense of the
definition. His mother, Maria, was born in Costa Rica. His mom’s side of the
family is pure Costa Rican except for AJ’s maternal Grandfather who was of
European decent. 
Maria worked for Oscar Arias, the Costa Rican President in the early 80s. When Pope
John Paul II visited Costa Rica in ‘83, Maria made it a point to meet him
through her government standing. She was pregnant with A.J. at the time. Pope
John Paul II, rubbed her pregnant tummy and "blessed" her child. 
AJ’s biological father, German, and his side of the family came from Hong Kong,
China. Originally from the last name Lao, A.J.’s paternal grandfather changed
his last name to Castro, fled China and migrated to Costa Rica for political
reasons. A.J.’s father raised him to believe in a discipline. 
That discipline was found in Martial Arts. From a young age Tae Kwon Do
was part of A.J.’s everyday life - earning a black belt and eventually competing
in the 1992 junior Olympics in Orlando, Florida. A.J. would go on to win gold
for team USA. 
So how could a 9 year old from Costa Rica compete for team USA? One year earlier,
his mom had remarried. She married into the Baron family - A Jewish family from
roots in New Jersey. A.J.’s step dad, Neil, and his family introduced A.J. to a
new world. They would celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah; what 9 year would love
that? However, this posed a new challenge –A.J. was in a new country and didn’t
know the language or culture. Through the help of a wonderful Miami-Dade Country
school program and Saturday morning cartoons, A.J. learned how to speak English
within the first year of getting to the states. 
Growing up in Miami A.J. quickly learned and lived many different cultures- African
Americans, Caucasian, Dominicans, Cubans, Argentinians, Columbians, Jamaicans,
and Haitians. Not to mention his Jewish family. A.J. attended and was part of
many Bar mitzvahs, multiple Bris and Torah studies. He loved the different
cultures, more importantly he grew to love how different cultures interact.
That’s what led him to study and get a degree in Psychology.
 A.J. wanted to see what made people tick. Nature vs. Nurture. During his time at
Florida International University, through conversations with many professors,
A.J. found out psychology wasn’t enough. His concentration was in relationships,
development of relationships in different stages of life and cross-cultural
relationships. A.J.’s most beloved college professor Dr. Brown at FIU went as
far as trying to guide him into a career in politics due to his vast
understanding of different cultures.  
A.J. was given a gift as a multicultural person. He can blend and fit in any culture;
anything from developing some of his closest friendships in an urban community
to an upper class social circle. A.J.’s ethnic background is best characterized
as an Asian Hispanic Catholic Jew. Who, by the way, is dating a blonde haired
White girl from Dallas, and whose best friends include a Midwestern corn-fed
White boy, two Japanese-American basketball players, an African American Postal
worker, an Argentinian Banker, a Jewish pro-wrestler, and a Black Pilipino Chef.