Odilia Castro Hidalgo

María Odilia Castro Hidalgo (1908–1999) was a Costa Rican teacher, communist and feminist. She founded the parent organization which would become the National Association of Educators. Exiled for her communist activities after the Costa Rican Civil War, Castro later returned and founded several social welfare programs. She taught for 32 years and served as a nurse in Costa Rica and Venezuela. Castro was admitted to the Costa Rican National Institute for Women (INAMU)'s Gallery of Women in 2006.

Biography María Odilia Castro Hidalgo was born on 26 October 1908 in Santiago de Puriscal, Costa Rica. Her parents, who were both teachers, moved while she was young to San José for better educational opportunities. Castro attended the Girls High School, worked with literacy and temperance campaigns, and participated in health seminars and summer camps for children of tubercular families. She wanted to study medicine but the cost for either a doctor or nursing course was beyond her means and she decided upon teaching. Castro enrolled in the Escuela Normal de Heredia, obtained her teaching credentials in 1929, and began teaching at Juan Rafael Mora School. She took night classes in nursing. In 1939, she attended the First International Congress of Teachers, held in Havana and returning home founded and organization Teachers United, which would later become the National Association of Educators. In the 1940s, she worked in "cultural missions" to help rural citizens access government services.

In 1948, she served as a nurse during the civil war. and sent its members into exile. Castro was exiled living in both Mexico and Venezuela, where she worked as a nurse and studied social work. In 2006, she was admitted to the Costa Rican National Institute for Women (INAMU)'s Gallery of Notable Women.