Rueben Martinez | |
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 Martinez in 1993 | |
| Born | April 16, 1940 Miami, Arizona |
| Occupation | Barber, bookseller |
| Nationality | American |
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Rueben Martinez (born April 26, 1940 in Miami, Arizona) is an American activist and businessman. He is active in Democratic party politics and runs a barbershop and a Latino-focused bookstore in Santa Ana, California.
Seeing no future for himself in the small mining town where he grew up, at the age of seventeen Martinez left Arizona for Southern California. [1] He found a job at the massive Bethlehem Steel plant in Maywood, East Los Angeles, attended night school at Santa Ana College, married and began raising a family. By the standards of his community he was a success, but as the years went by Martinez began to feel that he hadn't yet found an occupation which was 'the right fit.' He quit Bethlehem Steel to explore a series of other jobs in Southern California until finally in the late 1970s he used his savings to open a barbershop in downtown Santa Ana and proceeded to cut hair full-time for over twenty years. [2] [3]
His barber shop in downtown Santa Ana, California was a gathering place in Orange County. His interest in the community and in the needs of small businessmen led him to be active in California Democratic politics, especially among Latinos. He has been a delegate to several nominating conventions. [4]
In 1993, Martinez got an idea that grew from a customer novelty to a national business. Martinez realized that the Latino community in California did not have bookshops that focused on their culture. His small collection of books featuring imported books and Latino and Chicano artists soon outgrew his barbershop. He moved his business around the corner to an empty storefront and turned his attention to the books. [5]
Librería Martinez Books & Art Gallery and Libros Para Niños, a children’s bookstore, are recognized nationwide for showcasing Latino authors and artists. He seeks to make Latino books available to children, and has promoted reading among children of all ages. [6]
In 2004, Martinez was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. The selection committee cited Martinez for "fusing the roles of marketplace and community center to inspire appreciation of literature and preserve Latino literary heritage." [7]
Santa Ana is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the second most populous city in Orange County, the 13th-most populous city in California, and the 64th densest large city in the United States. Santa Ana is a major regional economic and cultural hub for the Orange Coast.
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura, is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and resorts.
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse since at least classical antiquity. In some instances, barbershops were also public forums. They were the locations of open debates, voicing public concerns, and engaging citizens in discussions about contemporary issues.
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Para Todos is a regional Spanish language magazine in the United States. Published by Silvia Ichar, the magazine reaches Southern California Latinos through its local distribution, as well as subscription base. Para Todos was launched in San Juan Capistrano, California in 1995 as a community magazine for South Orange County, but eventually became a publication with much more content than what was originally intended, and has gone on to be the leading Spanish language regional magazine of Southern California.
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Rueben Martinez put a few books out so his customers had something to keep them occupied. He never dreamed it would turn into a new
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