Diana Castro performed under the name “Diana and the Big Time” – and to her friends, that’s exactly who she was. Big Time.

“I shared many a stage with her over the years, and her talent was undeniable,” said veteran singer Erica Brown, who knew Castro for 40 years. “She was a force in the local music community. She could move a room to tears with her voice.”

Castro was a longtime performer in local jazz and blues clubs like El Chapultepec, Dazzle, Herb’s Hideout, the Little Bear and Nissi’s. According to the Colorado Music Business Organization, she died on April 26 in Alamosa. She was 73.

Castro was also part of an all-star, 10-piece classic supergroup called The Blues Circus, which included Castro, Brown, Lionel Young, Merrian Johnson and Peaches Embry on vocals.

“She had a voice tha

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