Name: Marta V. Martinez
Age: 66
Position: Oral historian and executive director of Rhode Island Latino Arts
Hometown: El Paso, Texas; now living in Warwick’s Pawtuxet Village.
Marta V. Martinez has spent more than 30 years collecting oral histories that tell the story of Rhode Island’s Latino community, from Colombian immigrants in Central Falls to Dominicans in South Providence.
She’s also played a key role in bringing together Latino artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and actors and making sure their work gets the attention it deserves.
Now, both facets of her work are combined in “La Broa,” a new play premiering at Trinity Repertory Company in January.
Based on Martinez’s book “Nuestras Raíces: Latino Oral Histories of Rhode Island,” the play celebrates pioneers of the local Latino community while also illuminating the struggles they faced. Names have been changed and some stories have been combined, but they’re all based on interviews that Martinez conducted.
Martinez, who was awarded the 2023 Pell Award for Artistic Excellence, has been collaborating with Trinity for seven years. The theater wanted to attract Latino audiences, she explained, but people in the local community didn’t see themselves reflected on stage.
She seized the opportunity and helped create Teatro en el Verano, which puts on free, bilingual performances in Latino neighborhoods, typically in public parks.
“I wanted to take theater to the people,” she said.
In 2024, Martinez looks forward to seeing La Galería del Pueblo, Rhode Island Latino Arts’ cultural hub in Central Falls, return in full force after a pandemic-induced hiatus. The first exhibit, opening in January, will feature original portraits of Frida Kahlo created by up to 20 local artists.
