Max Castro, Progreso Weekly columnist and friend, has passed

On Friday we learned of the passing of longtime Progreso Weekly / Semanal columnist Max J. Castro. We are not exactly sure of how he died, but his wife, Ive, informed us that it was probably a stroke that killed him. Max, to that point, had been in apparent good health.

Max Castro was a sociologist and bilingual columnist, and a founding member of the Emergency Network of Cuban-American Scholars and Artists and a co-author of This Land Is Our Land: Immigrants and Power in Miami.

“We’ve lost a good friend. One of the smartest persons I have ever met. A gentle, caring human being whose writing reflected what he wanted for the world — peace, equity and fairness,” said Progreso Weekly editor Alvaro Fernandez.