Rita Martinez () was a

Chicana Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American iden ...

activist operating in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

. She is notable for her activism against the observance of Columbus Day in Colorado. Her efforts came to fruition in 2020, when Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill abolishing Columbus Day.

Activism

Martinez began her life as an activist in the 1970s when she worked for the newspaper ''La Cucaracha'' where she was a reporter and photographer. One of the first issues she took up was police brutality and accountability. With her husband she helped organize Pueblo's

Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo ( in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoz ...

festivities for at least 45 years. In 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas, Martinez took part in protests against the Columbus Day parade, held in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which has since been disbanded. Martinez, Esteban and Freddy "Freak" Trujillo founded the Colorado Chicano Movement archives at Colorado State University in Pueblo. In 2020 her activism came to fruition when Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill abolishing Columbus Day and creating Mother Cabrini Day instead. From June to November 2020 she led weekly protests to remove a statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

form Mesa Junction in Pueblo, Colorado. Martinez did not live to see the statue of Columbus removed from Mesa Junction. She died on December 10, 2020, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, after 13 days in

Parkview Medical Center Parkview Medical Center is a private, non-profit teaching hospital located in Pueblo, Colorado. The hospital has 370 licensed beds. In the last year with available data, the hospital had 14,617 admissions, 69,023 emergency department visits, perf ...

Personal life

She met her husband Jose Esteban Ortega, at ''La Cucaracha'', the newspaper she worked for in the late 70s. Together Martinez and Esteban had three children, daughter Neva, and sons Tomas and Vicente.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Rita 1955 births 2020 deaths People from Pueblo, Colorado Activists from Colorado American activists of Mexican descent Women civil rights activists 21st-century American women