Edilia S. Castro (née García Castillo) passed away peacefully on 1st November 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. An extremely devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she is survived by her son José Luis Castro and her daughter Maria Pino as well as her two children grand-daughter Talisa Maria Pino (Costa) and grandson Tyler Steven Pino and his son: great-grandson Logan Cruz Pino. She is also survived by her brother Ramon García and his family.
The oldest of two children of Reimundo García and Amelia Castillo, she was born in the central Cuban city of Ciego de Ávila on 22 August 1937. The García-Castillo family tree, which traces its origins to the 16th century, includes patriotic figures in the wars of liberation which Cuba waged against colonial Spain at the end of the 19th century. She and her brother Ramón grew up in San Pablo, a rural sugar colony in the province of Camagüey, where she also attended the public rural school. She was encouraged by her teacher Dulce Maria to learn poetry and write. From very young age she assisted her father in the management of his farm doing the accounting and communicating with customers and suppliers. In this activity, she developed good skills in organization and leadership.
Although she was not able to attend the university, she was educated at home and loved to read, specially the poetry of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, Federico García Lorca, and the plays of Lope de Vega. She was not a scholar, but she had an ample education and believed that poetry was the history of the human heart and that poets of all times were writing about the same fundamental issues of humanity.
In 1964, she married José Domingo Castro, the son of a business associate of her father, and had two children, José Luis (1966) and Maria Caridad (1968). During the 1960s and 70s the family lived in the town of Céspedes and in a farm at the Crucero de Aguacate, in Cuba’s central highway.
She was actively involved in the education of her children assisting with the building of a new schools in Piedrecitas and Céspedes where she volunteered to build and equip some of the classrooms and dormitories. She organized piano lessons for a group of children from the neighborhood which was very popular until the government confiscated the piano and shut it down. She also provided art books and supplies and organized transportation for dozens of school children from rural areas, at a time when transportation was extremely difficult in Cuba. In her children, she instilled a love of art, history, music and poetry, often spending many hours at a time reading and learning new poems and learning history.
From Camagüey come some of Cuba’s most notable painters, writers, poets and scientists, and Edilia always instilled in her children their example and the love for learning and education. She believed that education was the only road to a better future for individuals and societies. Without artists, without poets or writers and without creative people, societies end up perishing. Only what we create and nurture remains after we are all gone. She witnessed the abandonment and decay of the places where she grew up due to this lack of culture and creativity.
In 1980 she emigrated to the United States with her family during the Mariel boatlift. The challenges living in a new country where she did not know the language did not deter her or her husband. Like most Cuban exiles in the United States, they found great opportunities in this country and were willing to work very hard to provide a better life for their families. The family moved to Paterson, New Jersey where there was a network of family and friends. It was then that her family celebrated Christmas for the first time in 20 years. This was a new experience for her children who had known what Christmas was growing up in Cuba. Although she never put a Christmas tree in the house, the family always celebrated this special holiday and its important meaning. She believed that it was the gathering of the family on this day what was most important.
Eight years after her arrival in the United States, in 1988, the family celebrated the college graduation of her son and the marriage of her daughter. It was a very special time for her filled with pride and optimism as she saw how her children valued education and family. With the arrival of her grandchildren Talisa and Tyler, she devoted much of her time to being with them during their childhood, playing with them, picking them up at school, preparing snacks and going on vacations together. Later, she would say that those were the most magical years of her life.
During the “period especial” a period of great hardship and food scarcity for the Cuban people, she traveled to Cuba to bring assistance and food family and friends. For these people this was a lifeline needed for their survival. For the hungry, she provided food, for the homeless, shelter and for the hopeless she provided hope. More than any aid organization or government agency, she assured the survival of dozens of families.
After the passing of her husband, she moved to Las Vegas to live with her daughter and family where she lived until the end.
Edilia Castro was person who led a very simple and modest life, but also distinguished by her elegant taste and style. She would say that simplicity is elegance and followed this principle in everything she did all her life. With extraordinary vision, consistent good humor, and deep sense of humanity, she was the center of her family and friends. She saw that there was a great future ahead for her family, and she pointed a stern constant finger towards that future, keeping the family united and focused. As we honor her today, we see her as example of goodness and leadership, a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. We see her as example that will live forever in the hearts of the people she loved and touched.
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