Rubén Martínez (born 1962, Los Angeles) is a journalist, author, and musician. He is the son of Rubén Martínez, a Mexican American who worked as a lithographer, and Vilma Angulo, a Salvadoran psychologist. Among the themes covered in his works are
immigrant life and
globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
, the cultural and political history of Los Angeles (Martínez's hometown), the civil wars of the 1980s in Central America (his mother is a native of
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
), and Mexican politics and culture (he is a second-generation
Mexican-American
Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
on the father's side of his family). In August 2012 his book ''Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West'' was published by Metropolitan Books.
Professional career
From 1988 until 1993, he was a writer and editor at
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...
, becoming the first Latino on staff there. Subsequently, he became a contributing essayist to
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, and a TV host for the Los Angeles-based politics and culture series, ''
Life & Times'', for which he won an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
.
Martínez's books include: ''Flesh Life: Sex in Mexico'' (with Joseph Rodriguez, Powerhouse Books, 2006), ''The New Americans'' (New Press, 2004), a companion volume to the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
series of the same name, ''Crossing Over: A Mexican Family over the Migrant Trail'' (Metropolitan/Holt, 2001), ''East Side Stories'' (with Joseph Rodriguez, Powerhouse Books, 1998), and ''The Other Side: Notes from the New L.A., Mexico City & Beyond'' (Vintage, 1993).
Rubén Martínez currently holds the
Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature & Writing at
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...
in Los Angeles, previously having taught at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
's Creative Writing Program, the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
, Santa Barbara, and
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and internat ...
.
Books
Desert America
His 2012 book, ''Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West'', reports on the world of "outrageous wealth and devastating poverty, sublime beauty and ecological ruin" that he found when he lived in northern New Mexico, Joshua Tree, California and Marfa, Texas. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reviewer, Hector Tobar, wrote, "Martínez treats all the people he writes about, and the places where they live, with the kind of profound respect all too rare among the legions of Western writers who have preceded him. The result is an emotional and intellectually astute portrait of communities long neglected and misunderstood by American literature."
Martínez, says of
Velarde, New Mexico, "I might add that I live in one of the poorest villages in one of the poorest counties in one of the poorest states and that the region’s heroin addiction is higher than anywhere else in the country, rural or urban.”
Crossing Over
Martínez's other major work, ''Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail'' appeared in 2001. Martínez followed a Mexican migrant clan, the Chavez family, from the small
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
town of
Cherán, Mexico, into and across the United States. Three of the Chavez's were killed in an accident resulting from a Border Patrol chase while they attempted to cross the
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
. Martínez also traced the migrations of other families from Cheran, including the Tapias, Enriquezes, and Guzmans. Martínez followed these families as their journeys took them to California,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
and
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
in search of the better life. But Martínez found out that this is not what the immigrants necessarily find.
The New Americans
Rubén Martínez's book ''The New Americans'' was written in 2004. Martínez wrote the book in the wake of
September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, when America's response to immigration changed immensely. Throughout the book he makes references to
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...
, the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
, and "
The New Colossus
"The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...
", the poem on the Statue of Liberty. Martínez wrote ''The New Americans'' to show not only how America's view of immigration has changed, but also how immigration is changing America.
The book follows the story of seven families as they immigrate to the United States. One family is from
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. The daughter of this family is marrying a second generation immigrant from Palestine that lives in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Another family is in exile from
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, and has been granted permission by the United States to move to Chicago. Two other immigrants are from the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, and have come to the United States to play professional baseball. Another family is from Mexico, immigrating to California in order to make money. The last family immigrated from
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
to California, to make more money than they would be able to make in India.
''The New Americans'' also brings to light many of the difficulties the immigrants face in the process of leaving their homeland and arriving in America. The book shows that the immigrants face problems such as racism, difficulty finding a job, difficulty acculturating, and the overwhelming sadness of leaving the land that they have always known. ''The New Americans'' is based on a PBS documentary series also named ''The New Americans''. The book received many positive reviews.
Articles
Rubén Martínez has been featured in many literary magazines for his work. His articles have shown up in various magazines, and his interviews have also been widely published. Below are a few of his articles selected for easy online viewing.
* In his interview with Robert Birnbaum, Rubén Martínez tells of how he was nominated to work at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
in the field of
urban studies
Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities and regions—it makes up the theory portion of the field of urban planning. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to th ...
. Birnbaum talks a bit about Martínez's contract with PBS for his book ''The New Americans'', and quickly moves on to his newest book ''Crossing Over''. After the book was completed, Martínez says he was shocked to find that the Mexicans he encountered in Norwalk are largely gone.
*
The Minutemen Project is a project in which volunteers show up on the border to help deal with Mexicans migrating into the United States. Martínez comments on the project in an interview with Julia Goldberg.
* "The Migrant Story" is an article written by Rubén Martínez, in which he encourages the reader to envision an immigrant briefing the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
on our current immigration policy. This article requires a free and easy membership to be read in its entirety.
* "The Undocumented Virgen" is another article written by Martínez. He spent December 12, the birthday of
la Virgen de Guadalupe, at Our Lady Queen of Angels in downtown LA with many Mexican immigrants. He joins the celebration of la Virgen de Guadalupe's birthday, and illustrates just how important she is to Mexicans, even when they are many miles away from home.
* Another immigration interview with Rubén Martínez. This interview examines why exactly Rubén is so interested in writing about immigration, and why it is such a big deal in the United States.
* Benjamin Adair interviewed Rubén Martínez about his newest book, ''Crossing Over'', on the radio. This webpage has a link to the actual radio interview, but also provides a textual overview of the important points throughout the conversation. It also contains some interesting photos of the accident scene from ''Crossing Over''.
* In another free membership required article, Rubén Martínez describes immigration from the standpoint of someone whose father and grandfather were immigrants. He describes what life is like being of Mexican and Salvadoran heritage while living in the United States. He also talks of how the process of crossing the border affects the immigrants' sense of identity.
Awards
Rubén Martínez has received multiple awards for his work. The awards he has received are the following: The
Lannan Foundation fellowship, the Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, the "Freedom of Information Award" from the
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
...
, the "Greater Press Club of Los Angeles Award of Excellence", the
Luis Leal award from UC Santa Barbara, and an Emmy Award. The Lannan Foundation fellowship is given to a person whose "work inspires communities domestic and international that are struggling to uphold and defend their right to cultural freedom and diversity", (Lannan Foundation). Martínez won this award in 2002, for his nonfiction work, ''Crossing Over''. In 2005, Martínez was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from
Whittier College
Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...
.
Other written works
* ''The Other Side: Notes From the New LA, Mexico City, and Beyond'' (1993), Vintage Books USA, New York
* "Technicolor" in ''Half + Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial + Bicultural'' (1998) Edited by Claudine Chiawei O'Hearn, Pantheon Books, New York
* ''Eastside Stories'' (with Joseph Rodriguez) (1998), Powerhouse Books, New York
* ''Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail'' (2001), Henry Holt and Company, New York
* ''The New Americans'' (2004), New Press, New York
* ''Flesh Life: Sex in Mexico City'' (with Joseph Rodriguez) (2006), Powerhouse Books, New York
* ''Desert America: Boom and Bust in the New Old West'' (2012)
References
External links
*
Loyola Marymount University – Ruben Martinez''Los Angeles Review of Books'' - Daniel Olivas interviews Ruben Martinez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Ruben
1962 births
Living people
Journalists from Los Angeles
American male journalists
American writers of Mexican descent
American writers of Salvadoran descent
Hispanic and Latino American journalists