Angelina Castorena Arce

Angelina Castorena Arce

She was born on November 3, 1917, in Johnson, Arizona. Her parents: Ramón Castorena and Isabel Martinez de Castorena, originally from Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí.

Angelina was the eldest of 10 children and is the only one of the ten living.

Rest in peace: Luis, Hector, Raul, Aurelio, Rosa Maria, Jesus, Lilia, Teresa, and Eduardo.

Before she was a year old, her parents left Arizona due to the 1918 pandemic and returned to Mexico, settling in Baja California. They arrived in Tijuana in 1920, and her father, Ramon Castorena, established his barbershop business and dedicated himself to contributing to civic life and Tijuana Social. Ramon was one of the Sociedad Mutualista de Zaragoza’s founders and established the first cinema where they exhibited silent movies. Angelina remembers that she and her little siblings saw the same film for a month. In 1920, Angelina entered Escuela Martinez, the first elementary school in Tijuana.

Angelina married Jose Maria Arce “Pepe” in 1938, and they had a daughter, Leticia Norm. In 1956, Angelina and her daughter moved to San Diego. She lived and worked in San Diego until her retirement in 1972, when she returned to Tijuana to reside and care for her mother, Chabelita.

At this time, Angelina began to serve at the Church of Santa Teresa in the Gabilondo neighborhood. Reverend Father Arturo de la Torre encouraged her to do religious studies to serve as minister of the Eucharist. Angelina was the first woman appointed Eucharistic Minister in Tijuana. These were very happy and fulfilling years in her life; since she was a child, she always had a strong faith and was pleased to catechize hundreds of adults to receive the sacraments. In 2010, Angelina returned to live in Bonita with her daughter Norma, where they reside. For a few years, she could attend mass on Thursday in Corpus Christi and joined the group of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

At 105 years old, Angelina is the nucleus of the family, surrounded by those she cares for. They love and respect her. Her grandchildren Jaime and Ricardo, her daughter Norma and many of her nephews and nieces are always with her. During her life, Angelina has remained proud of her Mexican roots and grateful for the privilege of being binational. She always instilled in the youth of the United States resident families who speak Spanish and are proud of their roots and culture. A great gift for multiple generations of her family.

105 años de vida.