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It began as a mother’s heartbreak, but now it has become a movement to restore faith, unity, and opportunity in South Texas.
Esmeralda "Esmi" Cantu-Castle told Fox News Digital that running for public office was never a part of the plan. She had never thought about running for Texas state representative in House District 37.
A mother, law student and woman of deep faith, her life took many unexpected turns, including the death of her husband and the day her daughter, Navy seaman Angelina Resendiz, went missing. That moment, and everything that followed, changed her forever.
"Then it was the summer, and Angie went missing," Castle told Fox News Digital while fighting back tears. "That shift changed everything. During that process, I was watching all the failures, though I didn’t realize they were failures until later — when you look back and start putting the pieces together, seeing a system that’s broken. I have no other words for it. It just doesn’t work. It’s a broken system."
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)
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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.
Esmeralda "Esmi" Cantu-Castle poses with Danitza James, a member of LULAC’s Veterans Committee and president of Repatriate Our Patriots; Steph Torres, a member of Repatriate Our Patriots; and Livier Lazaro, commander of VFW Post 7420 in San Diego, California. (Esmeralda Cantu-Castle)
"I know Claudia will probably hear me talk about her. We had dinner, and I told her all about Angie. She gave me a lot of advice about the military, and we talked for a while. She was very serious when she looked at me and said, ‘You need to run for an office.’
"I didn’t understand at first," she recalls. Claudia then said, "You need to run for some kind of office and help people. The country needs people like you. You would help people, and people need help."
Castle said that of all the people who had said things like that, she took her very seriously. "What she said resonated with me."
Her mentor spoke to her shortly after and that is when "the bells started ringing."
"Then my mentor, the attorney I had worked for, for many years, called to check on me. As we talked, he shifted the conversation."
"‘Esmi,’ he said, ‘you should consider running for state representative. We need someone like you to run in your district. You’re sitting right there. You can do it. You could win.’"
"It was like the bells started ringing — ding, ding, ding. I felt it was a call. There are no coincidences," Castle said.
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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."
Castle speaking at the LULAC National Women's Convention. (Esmeralda Cantu-Castle)
Castle’s platform centers on people, not politics. She speaks about opportunity, education, entrepreneurship, small businesses, health, and the environment. And she insists that it’s not just about policy. It’s about people.
"This isn’t about politics," she said. "It’s about people — compassion, community, resilience, and hope. Together, with faith, love, and gratitude, we can build something stronger. We can turn our challenges into opportunities for good."
"As I thought about it, the families I’d helped came to mind — all the reasons they were in those situations. Laws had been enacted that hurt them, maybe unintentionally, but they did harm," she spoke about passionately. "Resources in our area are limited — funding is scarce, and it’s a seriously underrepresented region. Those were the things that came to mind. This is an opportunity to do good for people — for all people."
She’s also tackling one of the Valley’s long-standing issues: political disengagement.
"There are 400,000 people who live in Cameron County. Two hundred thousand of them are eligible to vote, she stated. "In the last election, only 55,000 people voted. That’s a very low number for those who could vote. These are people who don’t understand the power of their vote in local elections — your state representative, your mayor, your commissioner — all these positions directly affect you."
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."
