RIVERSIDE, Calif. - TelAve -- On May 1, former U.S. Marine officer, entrepreneur, and author Adam Castillo returned to his hometown of Riverside, California for a private event at the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. What began as a gathering tied to his new book, Finding Our Voice: A Story of Leadership in Crisis and the American Spirit Abroad, became a call for inland California communities to organize, lead, and reclaim their political voice.

Speaking to supporters, students, community members, and local grassroots organizers, Castillo argued that California's inland communities have been overlooked by the coastal political class.

"For years, we've let coastal elites speak for us," Castillo said. "For a generation, we let them represent California's majority in Congress, all while they ran our once golden state into the ground from Sacramento."

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Castillo framed Riverside and the surrounding Inland Desert Empire as the foundation for a new conservative populist movement rooted in local identity and bottom-up civic action.

"We're desert people," Castillo told the crowd. "I say enough. It's our time now."

The event brought together key local networks, including members of the Riverside Republican Women Federated, led by Kathie Westley, and Rafael Barrientos, President of the College Republicans at the University of California, Riverside, who co-hosted the event with Castillo.

"Women and students are critical to what I want to build here in the desert," Castillo said. "The future of our desert communities and this country depends on them."

During the event, Castillo challenged attendees to move from interest to action.

One defining moment came when Castillo told the crowd, "Watch what I do next," before correcting himself: "No, what do we do next?"

For Castillo, that shift captured the purpose of the night. It was not simply about promoting a book or celebrating a homecoming. It was about laying the groundwork for a movement built from inland communities he believes have been ignored and politically underestimated.

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Finding Our Voice tells the story of how Castillo led an American business community through crisis in Myanmar after the country's 2021 coup. Now, after years abroad, Castillo says his next chapter is focused on public service and helping California's inland communities find their political voice.

Rafael Barrientos, co-host of the event, said, "What took place in Riverside was not a one-off event. It was the beginning of something bigger. California's inland communities have been quiet for too long, but with Adam's return home, that changes now."

For more information, visit: https://adammcastillo.com and https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Our-Voice-Leadership-American/dp/1544551630