Esmeralda "Esmi" Cantu-Castle and friends stand by a memorial placed where Navy seaman Angelina Resendiz was found. Members of the Norfolk, Virginia community started it and Charlene Norman leads the charge to take care of it. (Esmeralda Cantu-Castle)
NAVY'S SEARCH FOR MISSING 21-YEAR-OLD SEAMAN ENDS WITH TRAGIC DISCOVERY, SAILOR DETAINED IN VIRGINIA
Castle’s losses could have shattered her spirit, but instead it revealed her purpose.
She admittedly was already paying close attention to what she described as the government’s overreach, to imbalance, to the growing sense that everyday people may be left out of important conversations.
"As a law student, we're watching these things unfold — from the executive branch to the legislative branch to the judicial branch — and all the things that were happening," she recalls. "It was gut-wrenching to watch a president extend the powers of the executive branch the way he was. At that point, I knew I wanted to do something."
Castle never imagined that "something" would be of this magnitude. Through "Angie’s" tragedy, she began to meet key people, some advocates, some activists, and others she calls mentors, who inspired her and spoke into existence the idea of running for office.
Members of The League of United Latin American Citizens pose alongside Esmeralda Cantu-Castle. (Esmeralda Cantu-Castle)
Castle, however, is still humbled by the voices lifting her up in inspiration.
"I’m just a mom," she says as she describes herself in the simplest of terms.
"That’s exactly what I am. I’m just an ordinary person. I’m a mom. I go to school. I’m simple, a simple person. Ordinary. But that’s what it takes — a regular person. Someone who has the desire to do good and wants to do good."
And so now her fight has taken on a much more powerful meaning as she begins to campaign for Texas state representative for House District 37, a region she says has been "overlooked for far too long."
"Here in the Rio Grande Valley, we work hard, raise children, and serve our country, yet we have been left out for far too long by the very government meant to serve us. But we can turn our challenges into opportunities for good, together. By investing time and effort into education, entrepreneurship, local businesses, health, and the environment that sustains us."
Her message is one of unity and compassion.
"I believe what’s good for me should be good for you — and never come to the harm of others."
Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader, poses with Esmeralda "Esmi" Cantu-Castle. "She told me not to stop fighting," Castle told Fox News Digital. (Esmeralda Cantu-Castle)
She goes on to say that those who don’t vote give up their power and that they are allowing themselves and those around them to be acted upon because they themselves didn’t act.
"You relinquish your power," she explained.
To Castle, the act of voting is sacred — not partisan, but deeply personal.
"My mission for Texas state representative is simple: vote. Start voting. That’s it. Here in District 37 — vote. If you’re not voting, you’re not being heard. You won’t be heard until you start using your voice," her guidance was simple but powerful. "It starts with getting up and casting a ballot. It doesn’t matter who you vote for — just do it. When you start doing it, everything changes. You’ll shift the reality of the Valley. It will no longer be overlooked."
Castle's faith is the foundation of everything she does.
"My faith teaches me that when you’re in the service of your fellow man, you’re in the service of your God. I hold on to that. What I do for Angie is service to her. What I do for others in my daily life and volunteering is service to God."
She has found some healing as she connects with veterans, mothers and those who’ve felt unseen or unheard. She’s been working with community leaders and groups like The League of United Latin American Citizens(LULAC) to advocate for a long-promised VA hospital in South Texas — one approved in 2009 but never built.
Danitza James in black shirt, a member of LULAC’s Veterans Committee and president of Repatriate Our Patriots; her husband also in black shirt; AnnaLuisa Tapia, also a member of LULAC’s Veterans Committee in blue shirt; Castle; and Eric Mallett, commander of VFW Post 4809 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Esmeralda Cantu-Castle)
"I’ve been working with LULAC and with Larry, who is the vice president of the Veterans Committee. There should be a VA hospital in this area. It was approved in 2009, but the VA said the numbers weren’t high enough," something she deems unacceptable. "That was 2009. Now it’s 2025. We have 400,000 people in Cameron County, another 20,000 to 30,000 in Willacy County, and we’re not even counting Hidalgo County. Where is the hospital? It should already be here. There are no more excuses. The only excuse they could have is that we’re in the Valley — that we don’t count because we don’t vote."
Despite her growing profile, Castle remains humble.
"I’m no different from anyone else," she said. "There’s nothing in me that isn’t already in you. I just chose to step up. I chose to fight. I chose to protect and defend. That same strength is already built into every person in this community."
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Her voice breaks, but her conviction never wavers.
"We are more than our circumstances," she says. "We get to choose how we respond. And I choose to respond with love, with service, and with hope."
As Election Day nears, her message remains clear and unwavering:
"Vote. That’s how we rise. That’s how we’re heard. That’s how we change everything."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-mother-turns-tragedy-purpose-esmeralda-esmi-cantu-castle-runs-office-after-losing-daughter