Remembering Carmen Castellano and her impact on the arts in San Jose

Foundation leader famous for $141 million lottery win died Sunday at age 81

By Sal Pizarro | spizarro@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: July 22, 2020 at 3:39 p.m. | UPDATED: July 23, 2020 at 11:30 a.m.

A fierce advocate for the causes and the community she believed in, Carmen Castellano spent her life advocating for arts and philanthropic groups to include Latinx faces. And that — even more than the $141 million lotto jackpot that brought fame to her and her husband, Alcario — may be the most important legacy left by Castellano, who died Saturday at age 81.

“She was a marvelous woman, and a very generous woman,” Al Castellano said Wednesday. Private services are being held next week, but Al Castellano said he hopes a public memorial can take place in the future.

When the couple found themselves as the winners of a then-record California Lottery jackpot in 2001, it was Carmen Castellano who wrote down a list of nonprofits she thought the couple should support. The Castellano Family Foundation was born within six months, with Carmen serving as president until a few years ago when she passed the reins to their daughter, Carmela Castellano-Garcia. Their other children, Armando Castellano and Maria West, also sit on the board.

“Her work as a social change and race equity advocate throughout her life is a beautiful and profoundly impactful legacy I aspire to continue,”  said Armando Castellano, a musician who plays French horn with his group Quinteto Latino.

Carmen Castellano’s voice was amplified as she served on the boards of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley and others. At every turn, she would ask organizations she was involved in — or those that wanted her involvement or financial support — what they were doing to uplift the Latino community and how many people of color were on their boards and staff. She talked about equity, diversity and inclusion years before it was fashionable and insisted on action, not just words.

When the Castellanos went to a national conference of family foundations, Al Castellano recalled, they were among very few people of color represented. After eight years, Carmen Castellano was invited to speak at the conference and decried the lack of family foundation money that went to Latino organizations nationwide.

“People in the audience actually shouted at her that it wasn’t true. I’ve never seen that before,” Al Castellano said. “But she brought her paperwork with her and told them she would show them the proof after she finished talking. And she did.”

Carmen Castellano addressed the issue in an interview with Hispanics in Philanthropy in 2012. “I think it’s just really important to speak up, to advocate, to promote diversity in philanthropy,” she said. “That’s why, when we go to these conferences and workshops, Al and I are always willing to speak up and address that issue. I think advocacy is important for all of us who are in a position to do that. Let’s admit it, people will listen to you if you have money.”

But her community work started decades before the lottery win.  At that time, the couple, in their 60s, was living in San Jose’s Cambrian neighborhood. Al was retired from a job as a supermarket clerk. Carmen had a 33-year career as an administrative secretary and office manager at San Jose City College before her retirement in 1999. While there, she co-founded the Latino Education Association, an advocacy group for employees and students, and was president of the classified employees’ senate. The Castellano Family Foundation continued its support for San Jose City College, and the school honored Castellano in 2012 by naming its arts center after her.

Unlike some Silicon Valley philanthropists, the Castellanos insisted on using their foundation grants to support Santa Clara Valley causes instead of sending their money across the country and the globe.

Their foundation funded the Castellano Playhouse, a black-box theater at the MACLA gallery in downtown San Jose, and has supported San Jose Jazz, Cinequest, Teatro Vision and Los Lupeños de San Jose, among many others. The Castellano home in Saratoga was practically an art gallery itself — nearly all of it selected by Carmen — and the couple hosted fundraisers for nonprofit groups and held private concerts there, most recently in January. For their support of the creative community, the Castellanos were honored with the City of San Jose’s Cornerstone of the Arts Award in 2015.

“When I think about my career as an advocate both in philanthropy and the arts as it pertains to Latinx identity, it was totally shaped by her,” Armando Castellano said. “The words I use, the things I focus on are absolutely driven by that. That was the fuel for the work that I do now.”

Tamara Alvarado, executive director of the Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation, said Carmen Castellano was an important figure for both San Jose’s artistic and Latino communities. She met Castellano when she was executive director of MACLA, the Latinx gallery and performance space in downtown San Jose, and appreciated her support when she moved on to lead the School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza.

“As a role model, Carmen taught me by example what it means to treat people with kindness, generosity and respect,” Alvarado said. “Her legacy is making sure that the wider community sees us as the vibrant, creative, educated and fierce community that we are. And that is how she elevated us.”