| María Teresa Castillo | |
| Birth Date: | 15 October 1908 |
| Birth Place: | Cúa, Miranda, Venezuela |
| Death Place: | Venezuela |
María Teresa Castillo (October 15, 1908 – June 22, 2012) was a Venezuelan journalist, politician, political activist, human rights activist, and cultural entrepreneur. She was the founder of the Caracas Athenaeum, a leading cultural institution which promotes the arts of Caracas.[1] She also served as the president of Caracas Athenaeum from 1958 until her death in 2012.[1] Castillo, a proponent of human rights, also played a major role in the formation of Amnesty International's Venezuelan chapter in 1978.[1]
María Teresa Castillo was born on October 15, 1908, in a hacienda, called "Bagre," in Cúa, Miranda State, Venezuela.[1] She graduated from the School of Social Communications at the Central University of Venezuela.[1]
In 1934, Castillo emigrated to New York, United States, 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.[2]
In 1989, she was elected to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies, the former lower house of the national legislature.[1] As deputy, Castillo served as the first President of the Chamber's Permanent Commission on Culture.[1] She was also a member of the Chamber's Committee on Regional Development during her tenure.[1]
Castillo married Venezuelan journalist, Miguel Otero Silva, in 1946.[1] They had two children, Miguel Henrique Otero, the current editor of El Nacional newspaper, and Mariana.[1] [3]
María Teresa Castillo died in Caracas on June 22, 2012, at the age of 103.[1]
In Salou, Catalan province of Tarragona, there is a street named after Maria Castillo. The street is called Carrer de Maria Castillo.