A native of Cananea, Sonora, Castro lived in Mexico until 1926 when he emigrated with his family to the U.S. state of Arizona, settling near Douglas.

Castro would decide to run again in the 1974 election and defeated his Republican opponent Russell Williams, a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, by a thin margin.

Castro left his post as ambassador in 1980, ending his career in public service, and returned to Arizona once again to practice law.

[2] Castro's father was involved in a mine workers strike in Cananea and was sent to prison, but was later released as a political refugee to the United States in 1926, with the entire family relocating to Pirtleville, Arizona, near Douglas, on the Arizona-Mexican border and becoming U.S.

[4] One of the conditions of the scholarship included the requirement of washing dishes three times a week, and Castro worked his way up to become an assistant cook.

[4] Castro became a naturalized United States citizen at the age of 23, and returned to Douglas in order to pursue a career in teaching.

[4] He was turned down for employment due to being a Mexican immigrant, and was discouraged enough to hop onto a freight train and pursue boxing professionally, earning fifty dollars per fight.

[4] Later, he decided to once again return to Douglas and work for the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service clerk in Agua Prieta, a border city in his native Sonora.

[4] He was convinced by a friend to quit his job with the State Department and instead pursue a career as a lawyer, and decided to attend the University of Arizona College of Law.

[7] Castro earned a growing reputation during his time as a Superior Court Judge, and received a call from Roy Elson, an aide to U.S.

[7] Castro was not satisfied with his offer, as he felt he would be going backwards from being a Superior Court Judge, and rejected Elson while also stating that he wanted to be a U.S.

[7] Not wanting to potentially upset voters in the wake of the 1964 presidential election, Johnson requested that Castro change his last name, but he refused.

During his time as Ambassador to El Salvador, he was presented with the country's highest honor, the Order of José Matías Delgado.

On June 18, 1970, Castro announced his bid for the Democratic nomination, challenging Phoenix auto dealer Jack Ross and Chandler Mayor George Nader.

[8] Despite this, Castro went on to win the Democratic nomination by a significant margin, and challenged incumbent governor Jack Williams in his bid for a third term.

[8] During the general election campaign, Republicans attacked Castro for supposedly favoring Mexican immigrants during his time as Pima County attorney, and that he had been an "adequate" judge, but not an "outstanding" one.

[9] Due to the closeness of the 1970 election, the Hispanic community was encouraged about the possibility of Castro being able to achieve the office of governor, and volunteered for his campaign in droves.

Castro replied by suggesting that they call Senator Goldwater to ask him if it would be ok to admit the Governor Elect of Arizona into his state.

[10] Columnist John Kolbe of the Phoenix Gazette wrote about Castro, saying "Covering the amiable and peripatetic chief executive has become a newsman's jungle of half-completed sentences, imprecise factual data, and even contradictory assertions.

[10] Facing growing criticism during his term as Governor of Arizona, including sustained opposition from the state legislature, Castro was offered the position of U.S.

[10] In 2007, Castro's alma mater, Northern Arizona University, named the home of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in his honor.