"...if everybody gives a little, it becomes a lot."
David Castro has been working his "side job" as an ironworker for LTV Steel for the past 33 years to support his true passion -- preserving and promoting Latino cultural heritage. One of the founding members of the Latino Historical Society and member of LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), he also volunteers with the Hispanic Coordinating Council of NW Indiana, and helps coordinate the annual Pachanga events with LA CASA.
Castro's devout Baptist great-great grandmother, Brijida Villasenor, inspires his community service. He remembers as a six-year-old watching his grandmother prepare food for the poor sent to their house by the local mission church. "Mama," he asked, "we have so little. Why are you giving it away?" "Yes, we have little," she replied, "but they don't have anything." Castro believes "if everybody gives a little, it [becomes] a lot," a motto he learned from his great-great grandmother and childhood mission church.
A Chicano studies course Castro took at Indiana University-Northwest made him realize how little he knew about himself and his community. Since then he has been working to provide opportunities for Latino young people to further their education by learning about their history and culture.
Photo by Angela Martin Castaneda
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