Word from the Publisher/mensaje de nuestra fundadora Querídos lectores...

Someone once asked me to describe myself in one word. I responded, 'Tenacious.' Then they asked me why I chose that word. It was clear to me.

I grew up around very determined women/Latinas. They always modeled to me their course of action(s). Even more significant were my grandmother, Frances Fidenica Castro, who ignited our tenacity, and my mother, Janie Castañeda. Both always modeled how to overcome adversity, stay optimistic, and be God-fearing women.

As we celebrate my mother, I want to share a brief history of her. She was a premature baby. She fought for her life at a time when the technology and survival rate for premature infants were slim. Nevertheless, the barely 4 lb. baby lived – and lived tough!

As a child, my mom's name was stolen from her. While attending public school my mother experienced renaming, denaming and misnaming which happened to many Latino students. My mother was Ivory-skinned, with sandy blonde hair and hazel green eyes but her name was San Juanita, which was bestowed on her to acknowledge her Spanish culture. My beautiful innocent mother was forced to respond to “Janie".

I recall my mother sharing with me when she worked at the Hi-D-Ho Drive-In in Lubbock during the 1950s. It was located at 4th Street and what is now University Avenue and was the place for young people to cruise during the 1950s and 1960s. She loved working there and took pride in that she worked hard and earned her own money. As you may know the original was heavily damaged during the Lubbock 1970 tornado. Nevertheless, she was stronger for that opportunity to work there.

At that point in time, my mom had married young to my dad Jose "Joe" Martinez and they lived in Fort Worth and had one child - yours truly. It was the Lubbock 1970 Tornado that brought them back to Lubbock, where they purchased a home next door to my grandfather, in the Arnett Benson neighborhood.

They were active in their church Our Lady of Grace, as well as becoming community activists trying to secure Urban Renewal funds for families whose houses had been destroyed and impacted by the tornado. I still recall their conversation discussing one of the neighbor's houses that had a dirt floor, and how opposed they were to substandard housing for Hispanics and families of Lubbock. They conducted voter registration drives. I recall our efforts going door to door sharing political flyers to get people to vote.

My mom was vocal and marched along with folks including Maggie Trejo, and Esther Sepeda when they had to stand up for issues, she worked with folks like Tavita Dorow to assure that young girls were aware of their futures and avoided teen pregnancy, but offered resources if they became young mothers.

She had dropped out of school but was a smart woman. In everything she took on she was successful, and more so, she was a natural salesperson. She could sell anything, which resulted in high achievements in selling Tri-chem, Tupperware, and Home Interior. With six children, this gave her flexibility to raise us and have a job with money of her own.

And as her children grew so did her desire to complete her education. She obtained her high school diploma and even took some college courses. She also became more passionate about music and started teaching herself to play musical instruments. She became more independent and aware of herself, later realizing that she could make it on her own. My parents divorced. Regardless, my mother spread her wings and traveled and experienced life to the fullest independently for the first time in her life. Later, she remarried.

And then one day, she fought bravely against a battle with breast cancer. And for years, she and her husband Albert have lived a great life.

Almost 10 months ago, my mother's cancer recurred and she demonstrates what a warrior she is. My hero, my mother lost her battle on February 26, 2023. She made her mark and we will miss her, and we will always mimic and remember her.

Don’t forget you can find us on stands, and, online at www.latinolubbock.net also check out our social media pages for up-to-the-minute updates.

Y como siempre, Latino Lubbock is committed to our community. Thank you for your support and for reading Latino Lubbock Magazine. We are grateful to be 100,000 readers strong and appreciate our advertisers who help make it possible to keep our publication free. Till next month, thank you for your support and may God bless you! ¡Gracias por su apoyo! Que dios los bendiga. Happy Women's History Month! ¡ Y, que viva la mujer!

Sinceramente, Christy Martinez-Garcia

Publisher & Latino Market Specialist

“Lubbock News from a Latino Perspective”

Celebrating 17 Years of Commitment to our Community

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