If you’re one of those students who arrive late to school, you’ve most likely seen Ms. Hidalgo’s wavy black hair. Maria Del Cielo Hidalgo Castanada works in the main attendance office sending tardy and early-dismissal passes to students.
Hidalgo’s office, or corner as she calls it, is found to the left side of the main office. She has a pink name tag, along with other decorations, hung up on the wall. “The corner was too bleh for me so I added a little something,” says Hidalgo.
Among staff, Hidalgo is best known for being a bubbly person and being “able to make any color work,” according to Ms. De Leon, a SRHS Counselor. Main office staff say that Hidalgo is a “fashionista” and that her outgoing personality brings life into the office. “Cielo always has a cute outfit on everyday, she’s the very definition of demure,” says De Leon. With a fashion sense such as Hidalgo’s, and a hobby for sewing, it’s no surprise she has her own clothing brand. She started her business in 2022 and named it Cielo Mar Handmade, it’s solely based on instagram.
Office attendant Kellyn Garcia says, “There’s never a dull moment with Cielo, she’s so funny without meaning to.” Hidalgo has an easy-going personality as well as a sassy side to her. Casey Gramajo, a senior at SRHS, says “She has a spice to her.”
Over the time of observing Hidalgo in her workspace, the most noticeable thing about her is that she’s able to interact with students in such a nice way. “It feels as if you’re talking to a friend instead of a staff member,” says Dayana Calderon, another senior at SRHS. Her coworker Debbie Trimble says that “it’s very easy for other students to connect with her because of her personality.”
“I believe her age plays a factor, as a 23 year old young woman, connecting with kids isn’t really that hard because she’s so young,” says Trimble. Two of Hidalgo’s TA’s, both wishing to remain anonymous, say that they’re never bored being with her as she’s a very talkative, funny, and energetic person.
Since middle school, Hidalgo had been in a well-known community program called Canal Alliance. She greatly appreciates it to this day. “They (mentors) always gave me a safe space, if there were any academic issues or anything, they’d come out of their way to check in with me,” she says. They continuously encouraged her to do better, especially one specific mentor she had, Claudia, who had high expectations for her. After graduating, Claudia is someone Hidalgo stayed in contact with as she continued to help her during her first year of college.
Hidalgo is a 2018 SRHS Alumni who was in a couple after school programs and was on the swim team. “Although I had a good experience here [at SRHS], I regret not being a little more involved with this school and the teachers,” says Hidalgo. Her entire life was based in San Rafael and growing up she always knew she would come back one day if she decided to study in a far place. Hidalgo is a first-generation college-goer and is also the first in her family to leave for it. After graduating high school, she went to SF State for 1 year but originally wanted to go to Cal State-Northridge in Los Angeles California.
“I wanted to transfer over to Northridge right away but I couldn’t.” Hidalgo explains that she wasn’t able to attend Northridge until her last two years of college because she needed to go to a community college near there first. She went to LA Mission Community college for her second year, to which only then she was able to transfer to Cal State-Northridge for her third year. She graduated with an interior design degree.
While she studied pretty far away from home, Hidalgo knew she’d eventually come back to San Rafael. “I’m very family-oriented so I always knew I would come back. My whole family is based here, so it wasn’t much of a choice,” she says.
When asking about her family, especially when talking about her uncles, Hidalgo gives a big smile without noticing. “My dad wasn’t around that much but I had uncles who filled that role so I never really felt that absence,” she says. Growing up with a lot of cousins her age, she believes this is the reason they all have a close bond with one another. Hidalgo continues to go on about her family but didn’t have much to say when asked about her younger brother, another SRHS alumni.
When asked about the things her brother enjoys, Hidalgo pauses and says, “His life revolves around soccer, he loves it… That’s all I know.” Not being able to say much about her brother’s hobbies, she adds that it doesn’t really affect their relationship in any way as they’re still really close. They enjoy watching movies together and even though he’s “a mama’s boy, he’s still very sweet and caring,” says Hidalgo.
After graduating from Cal State-Northridge and moving back to her hometown, Hidalgo now lives in her own apartment with her four year old “son,” (as she calls him), a tabby cat named Fritz.
Even though she enjoys being around friends and family, Hidalgo still appreciates when she gets time to herself and is able to spend it doing things she enjoys. She likes making her own stuff from scratch and crafting because she’s a big “Do-it-yourself” girl. Music-wise, Hidalgo prefers more underground (not mostly known) artists and really enjoys Spanish indie songs.
Hidalgo, along with other staff members of SRHS, have recently all started (or continued) a hobby of crocheting to which they all seem to enjoy bonding through. Hidalgo’s childhood growing up in San Rafael is something she believes will always be a “core memory” for her. Hidalgo says, “I hope to be able to contribute to other people’s experience in a positive way as it was for me.”
“As the lady with wavy hair I hope I’m able to bring a smile to people’s faces, along with Fritz’s,” she adds.
