A longtime popular Charleston musician who plays with his band The Cuban Cowboys at a variety of Lowcountry concert venues, restaurants and breweries has shared that he has been diagnosed with leukemia and must undergo chemotherapy treatment.
For the next month, Gino Castillo won’t be able to gig around town, which comprises his livelihood, but instead will be confined to the hospital.
Castillo told The Post and Courier he went in for a diabetes checkup and some test numbers were off. After a testing repeat, he was referred to hematology at Roper Hospital, where they ordered a bone marrow biopsy. Castillo was then sent to oncology at MUSC, where acute leukemia was confirmed.
Gino Castillo, a local Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist, has been diagnosed with leukemia and will spend a month in the hospital receiving chemotherapy treatment. Provided
In the span of a week, Castillo went from living his typical routine to being reserved a hospital bed at MUSC for chemotherapy treatment.
“It is an unexpected turn, but (I’m putting forward) the best vibe possible to confront it,” said Castillo, who began chemotherapy on Sept. 6.
Castillo, who does not have insurance, will receive treatment for at least a month, and he said doctors have told him he likely won’t be able to work for an additional six months after that.
Because of this, longtime music scene friend and saxophone player Mike Quinn started up a GoFundMe page for Castillo, with an ask of $100,000 to cover medical bills and the months Castillo will be out of work.
“He is one of the most important people in my life, and he is in need of help right now,” said Quinn. “He’s important not just to the music community but to the community in general. He is one of those people who actually builds community, who brings people together of all different walks of life for the sake of itself, for the sake of life and community and goodness. He is a rare human. One of the best.”
Castillo has played music professionally in Cuba, Ecuador and New York City; he’s played in Charleston for the past 13 years. The bilingual artist is an Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist and singer who pays tribute to African-American music that influenced a change in modern Cuban music in the 1970s. His high-energy quartet can be seen all around town.
Gino Castillo’s friend and saxophone player Mike Quinn has started a GoFundMe for him, as he will likely be out of work for six months. Castillo doesn’t have insurance, and he makes his livelihood by gigging around town. Provided
Castillo already has begun to receive love and support from his Charleston family, for which he is grateful.
“This situation has given me, most of all, gratitude for Charleston, and I’m feeling very humble with the outpouring amount of love for me,” he said.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Castillo organized 45 musicians to collaborate from home for a song and video he released called, “Cha Cha Charleston.” That’s just one instance where he’s brought the community together.
As Quinn typed on the GoFundMe page for Castillo, “Please envelope Gino in the same sense of community and support that he has so relentlessly devoted himself to on our behalf. We love you, brother!”
The GoFundMe page can be accessed at gofundme.com/f/help-gino-fight-leukemia. As of Sept. 8, almost $30,000 had been raised.
