Elena de Castro goes all out for her Christmas cards despite her MS diagnosis
NEW YORK - Every year, CBS New York's Cindy Hsu gets some amazing Christmas cards catching up on her friends' lives.
But she has one friend who really goes all out with her cards, and won't let anything stop her.
Elena de Castro is such an inspiring person, Hsu wanted to share her story.
De Castro has traveled the world. She's visited 46 countries across five continents. For decades, she's worked as an events planner for corporations.
"I love learning about other cultures. I think it's important for people to get out there and see the world, see how other people live. It's very humbling in many ways," de Castro said.
The funny twist is she started bring a Santa suit on all her travels, and would snap a Christmas card picture wherever she happened to be.
"I bought a Santa suit at Woolworth's up on Third and 86th Street for $10, and I still travel with it. I do wash it. It's pretty flimsy, but when you see it from far, it looks fine. It's a little tattered, but it's gone around the world many times and I just fit it in a little Ziplock bag and travel with it. Whip it out, put it on," de Castro said.
It all started 41 years ago in 1982 in New York City.
"A police car came up behind us and wanted to know what we were doing, and I told them we were doing a Christmas card and I said 'Would you like to be in my next one,'" de Castro.
So, New York's Finest made the card. Others who've made the card: A village chief in Kenya, a gondolier in Venice and Tony Bennett. She even took one on the Great Wall of China.
Nothing seemed to slow her down until 2017, when Elena was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
"So many people reached out, and I have a huge village- my medical team, my friends. And so I don't have to do it alone," de Castro said.
In September, Hsu went on a cruise to Alaska with her mother, de Castro and de Castro's best friend Pat. While MS has made it hard for Elena to walk for very long, boy, she can really go on her electric scooter.
"Things are hard sometimes, but it can be fun, and this trip was definitely fun and my cards are fun, and I'm looking forward to coming out with the edition soon," de Castro said.
