Agustín Martínez «El Casta»

Agustín Martínez was born in Guadix but taken to Mallorca as a baby and grew up in Palma. He studied history and worked in the tax administration until an unplanned turn on stage at the Safari hotel in Ciudad Jardín in the summer of 1992, where he impersonated the singer Antonio Molina. Soon afterwards he gave up the civil service job.

In 1993 he opened a café teatro in Cala Gamba and formed a double act with Elisabet «La Nervio», billing himself as El Castañuelas. The solo career began in 1998 and rests on a gallery of recurring characters: Lorenzo Llamas, the Latin lover from Buñola; Klaus Kartoffel, the German; Dr. Tardanza; and historical send-ups such as Jaime III de Mallorca. Full shows followed, from Agustinacus, set in ancient Rome, to Es cosa de hombres, Ses Bubotes and El Cardenal de Lloseta.

Local media carry much of his work. He has collaborated with the Balearic broadcaster IB3 and with Última Hora radio, and delivered the weekly piece Queridos Mallorquines on Onda Cero's Más de Uno Mallorca. His Christmas galas at the Auditorium in Palma are a fixture, and when the Palacio de Congresos opened in 2017 he performed in front of King Felipe VI.