Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez

Background

Mrs. Martinez was born on June 3, 1954, in Austin, Texas, United States. She is a daughter of Holmes T. “Bill” Coonrod and Phyllis Berry Gaxiola.

Education

In 1983 Elizabeth Martinez obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Portland State University. In 1991 she earned Master of Arts in Hispanic Civilization, after graduating from New York University. In 1995 she became a graduate of University New Mexico with Doctor of Philosophy degree in Latin American Literature.

Career

During the period of 1983-1984, Mrs. Martinez worked at Woodburn Independent, Woodburn, OR, as a reporter and photographer. She joined the staff of Portland Oregonian, Portland, OR, occupying the post of a general assignment reporter in 1984-1986. Elizabeth Martinez served as a reporter and assistant editor for New Haven Independent, New Haven, CT, between 1986 and 1989.

Since 1989 Elizabeth Martinez became a managing editor for Albuquerque Monthly Magazine, Albuquerque, NM. Between 1989 and 1991she worked at KLUZ-TV (Univision), Albuquerque, as a news director and anchor. From 1991 till 1993 Elizabeth Martinez acted as a teaching associate at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, journalism instructor, and workshop coordinator, 1992-1994, instructor in Spanish, 1993-1995, assistant director and instructor for study abroad program in Xalapa, Mexico, starting from 1993.

Mrs. Martinez was an assistant professor of foreign languages at Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, since 1995. She was a member and chair of the media committee of HIV-Prevention Community Awareness Task Force, University of New Mexico Hospital, Albuquerque, 1990-1991. In 1991 she became a member of Centennial Celebrations Public Relations Committee, University of New Mexico, and later a member of conferences and committees at the University of New Mexico. Then she was a panelist at workshops.

Elizabeth Martinez was a contributor of essays to Nuestras Mujeres: Hispanas of New Mexico, Their Images and Their Lives, 1182- 1992, El Norte Publications/Academia, 1993, and Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery: Selected Papers, University of Southern Colorado, 1994; contributor of scholarly articles to journals, including Anuario de cine y Literatura and Hispania.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Before the Boom: Latin American Revolutionary Novels of the 1920s

    (In the early twentieth century, a technological revolutio...)

  • Edward James Olmos

    (Traces the life and career of the award-winning actor, lo...)

    1994
  • Henry Cisneros: Mexican American Leader

    (A biography of the Mexican-American mayor of San Antonio,...)

    1993
  • Mexican-American Experience 1995
  • Coming to America : The Mexican; American Experience
  • Josefina Niggli, Mexican American Writer: A Critical Biography

Views

Quotations: "I feel that my journalism and academic careers merge perfectly, for they are about writing, writing that will hopefully move at least one reader to new insights and reactions. Having grown up in Mexican culture, then transferring to U.S. culture as a teenager, made me acutely aware of differences in People that are fascinating but often unknown and misunderstood. I have sought to broaden awareness V my writing and publishing, whether as a newspaper reporter or more recently, in children’s books on 8feat Hispanic Latino historical figures. For example, hovv often can a Latina youngster read about great intellectual women of the seventeenth century? My book on Mexican poet Sor Juana [Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz] tells how a little girl’s urge to read and know everything took her beyond the experiences of most women forbidden in their society to obtain a college education."

"In my academic work, again I seek to portray cultural identity, to open new avenues for those teaching Spanish. In my teaching, students enjoy learning about the dances, food items, politics and news reports of the various Latin American regions and Spain. For example, stuffed corn dumplings are called tamales in Mexico, pasteles in Puerto Rico, and arepas in Colombia. And what do the different ways of holding a fan mean for the Spaniard? I plan to prepare a textbook that integrates these cultural items in an intermediate study of the Spanish language so that students can learn how life is lived by the various Spanish-speakers of the world."

Membership

• Modern Language Association of America , United States

• American Association of University Women , United States

• American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese , United States

• Latin American Studies Association , United States

• Rocky Mountain Modern Languages Association , United States

• New Mexico Organization of Language Educators , United States

Interests

• Avocations: research, skiing, films, cooking.

Connections

Father:

Holmes Thomas Coonrod

Mother:

Phyllis Berry Gaxiola