Hidalgo was born in Bogota, Colombia, on February 19, 1991. Her family left Colombia when she was five years old, and lived in Peru and Mexico City before moving to Houston, Texas, when she was 15 years old. Hidalgo graduated from Seven Lakes High School in Greater Katy, Texas, and then attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in Political Science in 2013. That same year, Hidalgo became a U.S. citizen. Upon graduation from Stanford University, Hidalgo received the Omidyar Network Postgraduate Fellowship to work with an international organization. She moved to Thailand where she worked for the Internews Network, an international non-profit dedicated to training journalists and advocating for press freedom. After returning to the United States from Thailand, Hidalgo worked as a medical interpreter at the Texas Medical Center in Houston and volunteered for the Texas Civil Rights Project. During this time, Hidalgo was accepted into the Master's/Juris Doctor Joint Program in law and public policy at Harvard UniversityKennedy School of Government and New York University School of Law. Though Hidalgo originally planned to pursue a career in health care and criminal justice, the 2016 election inspired her to put her degree on hold and run for public office instead.
2018 election
Hidalgo ran for County Judge of Harris County in the 2018 elections. She ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary election and faced incumbentEd Emmett in the general election. Hidalgo ran on a platform focused on flood control, criminal justice reform, and increasing transparency and accountability in local government. Hidalgo defeated Ed Emmett on November 6, 2018, to become the first woman and Latina elected Harris County Judge. Her victory was considered an upset and attracted national attention, with a large and diverse coalition of activists and organizations leading her to a nearly 19,000 vote victory.
Recognition
Hidalgo was featured on the cover of Time in January 2018 alongside dozens of other women that ran for office in one of the biggest elections for women. Hidalgo was criticized after a news conference in March 2019 in which she spoke in English and Spanish about the health implications of a massive chemical fire. She was addressing constituents and reporters from English and Spanish language media outlets. A commissioner from Chambers County posted a negative comment on social media: “English, this is not Mexico.” Her director of communications issued a statement noting that a third of the residents of Harris County are Spanish speakers:
"Judge Hidalgo represents all of Harris County and given the county's composition and her bilingual skills, she will continue to communicate as broadly as possible especially when public safety is at stake."
