María Teresa Castillo (October 15, 1908 – June 22, 2012) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

, and cultural

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. She was the founder of the

Caracas Athenaeum The Caracas Athenaeum (known in Spanish as the ''Ateneo de Caracas'') is a cultural institution centred on the arts. It is currently located in Macaracuay, at the Southeast corner of Caracas, after having been expelled by the Bolivarian Revolutio ...

, a leading

cultural institution A cultural institution or cultural organization is an organization within a culture/subculture that works for the Preservation (library and archive), preservation or promotion of culture. The term is especially used of public and charitable organiz ...

which promotes the arts of

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. She also served as the president of Caracas Athenaeum from 1958 until her death in 2012. Castillo, a proponent of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

, also played a major role in the formation of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

's Venezuelan chapter in 1978.

Biography

María Teresa Castillo was born on October 15, 1908, in a

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

, called "Bagre," in

Cúa Cúa (founded in 1690) is a small city capital of the Urdaneta Municipality, located in the Miranda State (Estado Miranda) in the north of Venezuela with an altitude of 490 m. Cúa is noted for warm and clear weather, with year-round sunshine and ...

Miranda State Miranda State ( es, link=no, Estado Miranda, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela and the second most populous after Zulia State. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,675,165 residents. It also has the greatest Hu ...

. She graduated from the School of Social Communications at the

Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in L ...

. In 1934, Castillo emigrated to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he worked in a factory as a seamstress. After she tried to stay in this country but their efforts are futile because she was syndicated as a

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

. In 1989, she was elected to the

Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () was the lower house of Venezuela's legislative under its 1961 constitution; the Venezuelan Senate was the upper house. Under the 1999 constitution, the bicameral system was replaced by the unicameral National Assembly o ...

, the former

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the national legislature. As deputy, Castillo served as the first President of the Chamber's Permanent Commission on Culture. She was also a member of the Chamber's Committee on Regional Development during her tenure. Castillo married Venezuelan journalist,

Miguel Otero Silva Miguel Otero Silva (October 26, 1908 – August 28, 1985), was a Venezuelan writer, journalist, humorist and politician. A figure of great relevance in Venezuelan literature, his literary and journalistic works related strictly to the socio-politi ...

, in 1946. They had two children, Miguel Henrique Otero, the current

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of '' El Nacional'' newspaper, and Mariana.

Death and legacy

María Teresa Castillo died in Caracas on June 22, 2012, at the age of 103. In Salou, Catalan province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

, there is a street named after Maria Castillo. The street is called Carrer de Maria Castillo.

References

External links

María Teresa Castillo.Interview with Maria Teresa Castillo by César Cortez in www.docuven.org.ve.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Maria Teresa 1908 births 2012 deaths Female members of the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies 20th-century Venezuelan women politicians 20th-century Venezuelan politicians Arts administrators Women arts administrators Venezuelan women writers Venezuelan women journalists Venezuelan human rights activists Women human rights activists Venezuelan centenarians Central University of Venezuela alumni People from Cúa Women centenarians Los Notables

Biography

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links