By Peter Berton

MIAMI – Good help is hard to find. Good help that can get hard when needed, even more difficult.

This is why voluptuous Cubana Angelina Castro kicked off her reality series, Can You Get It Up?, with a live webcast audition on May 26. Would-be porn studs had to demonstrate their ability to … er, perform … on cue. Those who surmounted the challenge earned a chance to co-star with Castro in a scene.

“We decided one of the best tests of new talent is to broadcast live,” Castro said beforehand. “Just like American Idol, we have a panel of judges selecting the next ‘big thing.’ Our judges will be tougher than Simon Cowell, [because] in porn you gotta have a thick skin.”

One of those tough judges was Castro’s grandmother, a stalwart Latina with a spritely sense of humor who got up close and personal with the aspiring studs as they attempted to strut their stuff.

After the event, Castro spoke with YNOT.com.

YNOT.com: First give us some background. Who is Angelina Castro?

Angelino Castro: I was born in La Habana, Cuba, on Sept. 6, 1982. I left my country when I was 10 years old and moved to Dominican Republic. I got to the U.S. when I was 12 years old.

I was a private-school nerd with a pretty normal life. As a Cuban-American young woman living in Miami, I got involved in politics at an early age, and I attended various school riots against Fidel Castro in the exile. I made it into the newspapers a couple of times as a result.

I graduated high school with honors, and when I decided to go to college, I wanted to become a chiropractor. All dreams don’t come true, but I got close to mine and became a therapist.

How and why did you get into the industry?

Right after college I decided to do a porn just to try it out, because I was curious. Little did I know it would become a phenomenon in Miami.

I got a call inviting me to be interviewed on the Enrique Santo Show. After I finished defending my decision to do porn, I realize that it was my duty in life to become the best porn star I could be, so I can show people that the stereotype they have of females in this industry is wrong.

After that show, I kept doing radio and TV interviews. In October 2008 I became the first Cuban porn star to co-host a show on mainstream TV’s La Cosa Nostra. During a segment on the 8 p.m. news, I taught couples about sexual positions and toys that would fill their lives with spice and excitement.

For the past three years I’ve worked for all the main Spanish channels: Univision, Telemundo, America TeVe and Mega TV.

Why did you stage the “Miami: Can You Get It Up?” event? And why live auditions?

I’ve been having all kind of problems finding talent for my site. Guys are scared of me. I decided to give the opportunity to all of those who think porn is easy. So let’s see if Miami can get it up for me.

What role did your grandmother play?

The guys had to show me their favorite position. They will put my grandmother in that position so I could see how they looked in it. It was fully clothed, don’t worry! [Laugh.]

How well did the contestants fare under that kind of pressure?

Everyone was very nice, and they had a lot of fun. They participated great with Grandma, and they were very sweet with her.

What was Grandma’s response to the contestants? Were there any she wanted to take home?

She fell asleep while waiting for them and told me to wake her up when the dick got there. [Laughs.]

What a character! It sounds like the event must have been a success.

The event was a success, and lots of fun. Seventy-five percent of the guys who showed up got hard. I will post the footage on my site soon. Hopefully other cities can get it up for me, too.

Any advice for future applicants?

Make sure you can really “get it up!”