[News] Well-known Chicana activist Rita J. Martinez, Rest in Power

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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*Rita J. Martinez, 65, Rest in Power*

By JUAN ESPINOSA

Friends and family of Rita J. Martinez are mourning her death this week.
The well-known Chicana activist died Dec. 10 in Pueblo after a valiant
battle against Covid.

She was best known as one of the most vocal leaders in the three decade
long fight to abolish the Columbus holiday in Colorado — a battle that was
won earlier this year when Gov. Polis signed the bill replacing Columbus
with Mother Cabrini Day.

A month ago, she was leading a weekly protest demanding the removal of the
Columbus statue in Pueblo’s Mesa Junction. The protests went from June to
November and endured record-high to sub-freezing temperatures.

But the Columbus issue was not her only cause. Before she became involved
in the Chicano Movement, she has trained and worked as an LPN.

Her more than four decades as an activist began in the late 1970s when she
was recruited to the staff of La Cucaracha newspaper. Because of her
artistic talents and eye for detail, she quickly learned layout and
production of the newspaper. In the ensuing years she also took up
photography and reporting.

At La Cucaracha, she met the late Jose Esteban Ortega, the father of their
three children: Tomas, Vicente and Neva.

Rita had a life-long passion for justice. Police brutality was one of the
first issues she tackled. She also was an advocate for Dr. Richard Rivera
and the Pueblo Neighborhood Health Centers, when they came under siege of
the local medical establishment.

Bilingual education and Chicano studies were other important educational
issues. For at least the last 45 years, she and Esteban were the key
organizers of Pueblo’s Traditional Cinco de Mayo celebrations held mostly
at Bessemer Park. This year, marked the event’s 50th anniversary.

In 1992, she organized the protest of the 500 year anniversary of Columbus’
arrival in the Americas. She also participated in the Denver protests
against the Columbus Day Parade, which is no longer held.

Through the protests, testimony before the Colorado Legislature,
publications and public appearances she helped expose the atrocities
committed by Columbus and those who followed in his footsteps.

She is also the recipient of numerous awards and accolades from groups
ranging from being inducted as a “Corn Mother — Inspiring Women of the
Southwest” in 2019 to having a play written and performed about her by the
Romero Troupe.

On May 5, 2017, Pueblo City Council proclaimed her to be “Matriarca del
Cinco de Mayo.”

Not only did Rita make history, she was intent on preserving history. She,
with Esteban, and Freddy “Freak” Trujillo, were founders of the Colorado
Chicano Movement archives at the Colorado State University-Pueblo.

She also was instrumental in helping Pueblo Community College receive El
Movimiento: The Chicano Movement in Colorado and Pueblo exhibit from
History Colorado. She served as a host for the Pedagogy & Theater of the
Oppressed conference at CSU-P in 2019. The Office of Diversity at the
university also named her “Distinguished Leader.”

For the dozen days she was hospitalized, Rita’s family and supporters
prayed a nightly Rosary via a Zoom meeting. Most importantly, Rita was a
loving mother to her three children, grandchildren, a mentor to dozens and
an inspiration to hundreds of young people.

When her children were in school and college, she helped organize many
youth conferences throughout Colorado. A youth conference was planned for
this year’s Cinco de Mayo week, but was postponed because of the pandemic
until 2021.

Always with attention to detail, Rita spent much of her last few years
founding a new nonprofit organization — El Movimiento Sigue — The Movement
Continues. As it’s name implies, it is dedicated to continuing the work to
end racism, discrimination, and inequality. When the pandemic allows, a
memorial service will be held in 2021.
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