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Latino Lubbock Magazine Celebrates its Sweet 16
BY AMARIS GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE
Despite the challenges of COVID-19 Latino Lubbock Magazine continues to be available to Lubbock and 26 rural communities, as well as in limited areas of Midland & Odessa. Part of that reason is because of the passion and tenacity of its founder and owner - Christy MartinezGarcia, who continues to demonstrate that she is the heartbeat of Latino Lubbock Magazine and has been since its inception in 2006. As the pandemic continued into its third year, Christy continues to work on the business end of Latino Lubbock Magazine having becoming HUB certified, achieving an LLC, and is now working on becoming certified as a Minority Business Enterprise, as well as a Woman-Owned business. "It's been a roller coaster. Just when we see the light at the end of the tunnel, this pandemic and its variants have stopped, slowed or halted the direction which we're headed," said Martinez-Garcia, explaining that she is continuing working from her home office and limiting the number of events that she and her staff cover. "Now, is when we're counting on our readers to keep us informed and share photos of events they're holding," she said adding that the public can even submit events to their online calendar. You may recall that last year when the Covid surge was at its peak, she kept her readers and social media followers on informed - sharing factual news and information about the pandemic. No doubt that Christy is strong. She was influenced by her grandparents. She grew up next door to her grandfather Don Juan Martinez, as well as grandparents Juan E. & Frances Castro in the Arnett Benson neighborhood. Daily she visited her Grandma Castro who was very important to her. She also said her Grandfather Martinez influenced and impacted her life in many significant ways but one thing he told her has always stuck with her. "First God, then family, and never, never forget your community," is what her grandfather would tell her. Martinez-Garcia said she had her calling when she received her first camera at the age of 10 years-old, for Christmas, and she began taking pictures of everything. Soon she began pretending to hold mock interviews in front of the bathroom mirror. Her father Jose J. Martinez was an avid newspaper reader and attended college while she and her siblings were in elementary school and always instilled the importance of reading from a young age. She said she got her gift of gab from her mother Janie Castañeda, who could sell anything. Their influence led to her future career. At 18, she began working as a sales representative at West Texas Hispanic News for the late Ernest F. Barton, who died in 2018, and served as her mentor, before transitioning into writing for the publication. She did this while she attended Texas Tech University. She would go on to get a public relations and marketing degree. She worked as a Public Information Officer (PIO) for the City of Lubbock, serving in many capacities and volunteering to take on many projects to learn and connect with all citizens. “My goal was to put a face on what is often considered to be a faceless bureaucracy,” she said. Christy did other work but was also committed to public service. Eventually, she would land a dream job as the assistant vice president of communications for National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in Washington D.C. She met many people and experienced so much, more so she learned of many resources. However, the job's schedule and commute time were taking away from valuable time with her husband and daughter, eventually, she decided to relocate back to Lubbock. Upon her return, she noticed that local news outlets often did not report positive news about the Hispanic community or include them as experts of topics. This frustrated her because in her previous job she saw first-hand the positive contribution of Hispanics and the role they held in impacting national decisions. "I wanted to showcase the contributions of Hispanics to Lubbock. Having worked with media, print seemed the best platform to do so," she said. More so, her own upbringing and being surrounded by many active Hispanic role models drove her to assure that her own daughter Amaris Garcia and generations following would take pride in the footprint left by their families in their contribution to Lubbock. Thus, Latino Lubbock Magazine was born. She began to conceptualize the publication. Holding one-on-one’s, focus groups, doing research, interviews as well as preparing all necessary business requirements to get the publication going. The first issue of Latino Lubbock Magazine was published in January 2007 and was created in the guest room of Martinez-Garcia's home. She printed 5,000 issues and placed them around Lubbock and quickly ran out in the first week. The immediate demand for more copies of Latino Lubbock Magazine inspired her. The publication now has 100,000 readers monthly and can be found in Lubbock and 28 rural communities. Christy said Latino Lubbock Magazine uses the Monarch butterfly in the publication because it symbolizes resilience of multi-generations. She believes it is very representational of the things the Hispanic community has withstood. She said the butterfly represents her continued journey as well. "The butterfly impels me," MartinezGarcia said. "I'm passionate about my community and when you love what you do it seems easy, but it is also driven by faith and that spirit of community. And like the Monarch that takes flight on its journey from one region to the next, and arrives at its destination despite all obstacles, I wanted to emulate such tenacity. I'm so blessed to get to do what I do." She said she is grateful to her husband Frank and her daughter Amaris for always supporting this journey. More so she said that she is grateful to her readers and advertisers. "We are blessed to have such dedicated and supportive readers. Our advertisers make it possible for the publication to remain free, and our readers fuel our passion,” she said. Martinez-Garcia discussed progress for Hispanics in the area sharing that she had begun seeing some inclusion and positive recognition for Hispanics in the Lubbock community, but the current administration and other factors have hindered that progress. "I don’t feel like we are where we should be, and we must continue to remind officials to be more inclusive of us, and not believe that one person can serve as our mouth piece," said Martinez-Garcia.
“We must continue to shake at the hems of our community representatives and hold these representatives more accountable when they don’t seek out our input or depend on the voice of one Hispanic to speak for us all.” She strives to be objective in her role as the publisher of Latino Lubbock Magazine. “I was asked why I am not more political. As someone in media I must remain objective. My role is to give Latinos a publication reflective of them that they can take pride in; and, the community a tool for better understanding and creating dialogue.” Despite reaching her 16-year mark, Christy said she the industry continues to change, and she recognizes that Latino Lubbock Magazine has had to have a more digital presence, which she was glad that she begin a slow migration in 2019 - especially during this covid crisis, explaining that their website saw a 500% increase in unique impressions, as such is now offering digital advertising as well. She said that she was glad that she relocated her office because with the COVID-19 pandemic she might not have survived keeping her doors open. "We now meet by appointment still utilize Zoom, and particpate in smaller gatherings. Also, we receive a lot of our news and leads through email and our website so its been a blessing." “We are striving to continue growing our digital footprint and continue to be passionate and reflect more current daily news,” she said adding that her website is a great source along with her social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram. She balances Latino Lubbock Magazine
CHRISTY and Los Hermanos Familia, a nonprofit MARTINEZ-GARCIA 501 (c)(3) organization that she founded, keeps her extremely busy. In addition, she serves as the host of the Latino Lubbock Update that she appears on each Thursday on KLBK’s Trends & Friends. Christy is preparing to launch a podcast in the near future. She also continues to serve on the board of National Association of Hispanic Publication (NAHP) influencing the direction of print and digital media in her industry. In 2019, she also propelled her publication to a new level when she was recognized as the NAHP's 2019 Latina Publisher of the Year! Martinez-Garcia said that 2020-21 were a challenge, but she took every opportunity to grow and assured that the publication will continue to strive despite the pandemic. “We’re passionate about the Latino community. We know our passion is a common thread that many Hispanics posses and we hope to share new stories and cover new events, as well as sustain our traditional readers and dedicated followers, while growing our audience.” "We're excited to continue to grow as we achieve SWEET 16!" “Thank you! We're optimistic that God will continue to propel Latino Lubbock Magazine so we can further empower our community.” Visit www.latinolubbock.net or like us on facebook.com/LatinoLubbock
Keeping Latino Traditions & Family Memories Alive
BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE
Annually, as my family and I enjoy the holidays, I take time to share the recipes of my Latino culture, with my daughter Amaris. As we prepare the spices for the buñuelos, I explain to her, ‘We use anise, cinnamon, and cloves and grind them up and then mix them into dry sugar.’ As we do this, I further share the significance of the buñuelo. First, Hispanic/Mexican families made this New Year's treat because it was affordable - as many families struggled financially, but our madrecitias (our mothers) were innovative and knew how to stretch every dollar, and prepare food with lots of love. And while most families simply mix sugar and cinnamon, we use spices to symbolically signify the New Year and the spice of life, as well as the diverse heritage of many Latino families, which range in backgrounds from Spanish, Arabic, Irish, and French to name a few. The circle shape of the buñuelo symbolizes the unity of the family in the New Year, which in this time is a great reminder as we are losing tradition and sanctity of family. The sugar, that there will always be sweetness in life in the New Year. The crispness of a buñuelo is a reminder to always break bread with family and friends in the New Year. More so, the tortilla or masa is a reminder of the bread of life, which also draws to our Christian Faith in the New Year. Couple a buñuelo with some hot chocolate, and we let our rich heritage include the contribution of our indigenous ancestors like the Aztecs and Mayans who come to light in the New Year. That said, this tradition to make bunuelos is something that I hope many families will continue each New Year, for many generations on. It symbolizes a sweet new start among those we love the most. The Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"—2 Corinthians 5:17 A new year, is better than starting over! As Christians, we get a fresh and new start. God not only forgave us, pardoned us, ransomed us, and saved us, he also made us a new creation! And every time we come to Him, every day we rededicate ourselves to serve him, and every new year we offer to him, we get a new start and a whole new world. So as we begin this New Year, let's begin by offering ourselves to him, asking him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and take leadership of our lives. Life has so many symbols, and we are in essence much like bunuelos. That said let us live a sweet life, and live up to the blessings that God has so graciously given to each and every one of us in 2022, and beyond. And with that I share a prayer...Almighty and holy God, I want to glorify you and bring you praise in the choices that I make, the people that I influence, the words that I speak, and the actions that I take in this coming year. I know that I am not guaranteed a single new day, but I want each that I live to be a day I have lived for your glory and honor and praise. In the name of Jesus my Lord I pray. Amen. Happy and blessed 2022!
