Aldo R. Castañeda, one of the most eminent cardiac surgeons of all time, passed away on 30th April 2021. In many nooks and corners of the world one can find surgeons dealing with congenital heart defects employing methods developed over decades by this brilliant surgeon. It has been calculated that he educated and professionally shaped over 100 paediatric cardiac surgeons; of this number, almost one-half of the physicians head and supervise important paediatric cardiac surgery centres worldwide. The group of his disciples and closest collaborators included William I. Norwood, the preceptor of many of us, our master and tutor, who also passed away not long ago, at the end of 2020.