Castillo's Castle
Inside Soap (Australia), 7/92
Thanks to Anne in Australia!
A in his elegant lounge room: the result of years of toil! He and his wife lived in a trailer for two and a half years while they were building their house. It took them four years to get it exactly the way they wanted it, and, says A, it was "like building a small hotel for a large family".
The door opens: There stands Santa Barbara's A Martinez, only too happy to take Inside Soap on a guided tour of his palatial home. Adorned with exotic rugs, historic statues, gilt-framed works of art and antique furniture, it took A and his wife, Leslie, four years to build their dream home. But despite its parquet floors and grand fireplaces, "Castillo's castle" is still a place that A, Leslie, and their two children, Dakota and Devon, can call home.
Even at home after a tiring day on the set of Santa Barbara, A has little time to relax - if he's not wading through a mountain of scripts, he's wheeling and dealing by phone!
Yes, he really does have a 'mountain' of scripts to wade through! A settles down to do some work, but it seems that baby Devon has other plans for dad...
...She wants him to play a few bars of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
By now you've probably read that A Martinez has left Santa Barbara for prime-time fame on L.A. Law - (although the good news is that he will still be seen on our screens as Cruz for about another two years), but before he made his momentus decision to leave one of daytime's sexiest soaps A asked Inside Soap if we'd like to check out the house he and wife Leslie spent four years building. Naturally, we said yes!
Although A debuted in Santa Barbara seven years ago without Marcy 'Eden' Walker, over the years the pair became the show's hottest couple.
It was a case of opposites attracting, and while the initial decision to pair this duo may have seemed a strange choice, there was no disputing the dynamic chemistry they exuded.
A says that Cruz and Eden are "testimony to the power of love".
When Marcy decided to leave the show, A was left wondering whether to follow suit. Always keen to venture into prime-time TV, he got his chance to do so when Jimmy Smits quit L.A. Law, leaving the way clear for A to take his place.
However everything has a price and while A gets his big break to make a name for himself in a prime-time drama, it also means he has to put other things on hold: A is a musician and would love to make a record.
A with a bronze sculpture - one of the pieces used to decorate his beautiful home. The sculpture represents a Red Indian warrior in battle; A has a particular interest in the American Indians as his mother has Indian blood, while his father is Mexican.
A lathers up for a shave before heading off to the studio for a hectic day of learning new lines (scripts are often rewritten at short notice) and filming on the set of Santa Barbara.
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