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Q&A Part 1: Spurs Spanish radio voice, Paul Castro, reflects on his broadcast journey

For decades, Castro has called Spurs games for Spanish-speaking fans and has seen the highs and lows of the team.

SAN ANTONIO — Take a guess at who is the longest-tenured Spurs broadcaster.

If you guessed Spurs Spanish radio voice Paul Castro, then you are absolutely right.

For decades, Castro has called Spurs games for Spanish-speaking fans and has seen the highs and lows of the team.

But he always keeps a positive outlook on the team and is always grinning from ear to ear about how fortunate he is to be working with the Spurs.

In part one of this exclusive Q&A, Castro talks about his journey, almost going into the movie business and so much more.

Jeff: How long have you been doing this?

Paul: Jeff, I'm going on 28 years this season. That'll be almost half my life, which is weird.

You started with the Blazers, right?

Back in the early Nineties, I was with Portland from '90 to '93. I also did some Mariners [MLB] work during that summer of '92, '93. That was kind of fun too.

Wow! You've worked with the NBA and the MLB?

With baseball, it was just for a little while. It was an experiment, and the Mariners liked it. 

But, at the same time, I was thinking of going to directing school in California. 

Guess what? I started Oregon State. I wanted to be a music theater director-producer. And I figured that I was going to do it for fun, and then go to California. 

But then, these guys [Spurs] called me because they lost their guy to the NBA office. So I took the call and I took a chance, and here I am.

You're the longest radio broadcaster in Spurs' history?

Pretty much. As long as I've been here, I've seen almost, wow, a lot of people go through TV and radio. 

But the thing, Jeff, is once you get a job like this is, it's up to you to lose it. And I've done everything I can to make sure that the Spurs are happy with my work. 

I get along with people, people like me, and it must be my personality or something.

Yeah, you definitely have a good personality. So what has been the worst moment you have ever seen? Was it Ray Allen's 2013 shot, or was it Fisher's 0.4 shot?

Well, it's a lot of little moments in anybody's career. They can go back and actually pinpoint stuff. 

But, to me, a bad moment in the NBA is not a bad moment at all because you're looking at an NBA game level, the highest level in the world, so whatever happens, it's just meant to be. 

And I really don't carry any kind of sadness or anything after a loss. You don't get too low in the losses. You don't get too high in the wins. 

And after doing it all these years, you actually learn how to control your emotions, which is kind of good.

RELATED: Q&A: Longtime Spurs broadcast engineer shares his favorite memories after 20 years and more

Almost for all your broadcast career, you saw the Spurs win titles. That must have been great.

It's been a great ride. And, for me, I've been to seven NBA finals in my career. I'm 5-2 in the finals. 

Plus, one of the best moments in my career too, though, was when I was in Portland. We got the tournament, The Americas, and I got to call all the Dream Team games. 

And that really gave me a taste for wanting to stick around because it was just so good. I mean, I don't think I'll ever see basketball at that level in my life again.

You talked about how you don't get too high, you don't get too low, but the championship's got to be right up there, just to call them and to see them go from game one of the regular season to the final team standing.

Oh yeah. There are other teams that won championships with Spanish Radio, but those guys aren't full-time. They stay at home and call half the games at home. 

But in our case, I've been with the team the whole way, so it does make a difference when you get a ring because you were are actually there all the way from preseason to the end. 

It makes it closer to the team and gets the respect that other broadcasters give you because they know that it's not easy. The first championship and the last championship are my favorites.

The last one is because it was incredible to actually get to the finals the year before against the same team, and then come back, roaring back. And I'm telling you, that basketball was awesome. 

The best in a long time for the Spurs, but we got back against the same team, and got even.

What is it like now, calling games in a team to rebuild? Do you feel like it's different?

Come back to KENS 5 this week for the conclusion of our chat with Castro where he gives us more of a look into his career working with the Spurs.

Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5

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