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At 14 years old, Anita N. Martinez was collecting signatures on a petition urging the paving of Pearl Street in the area of Dallas known in 1940 as “Little Mexico.” While Little Mexico was absorbed by the booming business district of Uptown, Martinez’s legacy has not dimmed. As the first Mexican American elected to the Dallas City Council, her pioneering contributions to the civic and cultural life of Dallas were celebrated Thursday evening at a symposium at Southern Methodist University.
SMU Spanish professor Elizabeth Russ led a discussion with Al Martinez, the honoree’s son and a historian, and Lisa Mesa Rogers, executive director of the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico. Al Martinez recalled how his mother, now 96 years old, shaped his early life.
“She came from a family of very strong women,” he said. “The reason we didn’t give her much trouble was that we just didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on her face — that’s what kept us in line.”
Following her time on the City Council, Martinez established the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico in 1975 to educate Hispanic youth on their culture’s significance through traditional dances from regions in Mexico, Central America and the American Southwest. The dance company currently has over 100 engagements each year, performing at SMU several times each season.
“The kids didn’t even know SMU was here the first time I brought them,” Mesa Rogers said. “They had no idea that there was this extraordinary college right here in Dallas. Would it not have been for this organization, they would not have had the opportunity to step on campus. It gives young people the confidence to achieve more.”
The Ballet Folklorico now has several former dancers who are SMU students or alumni.
“This company has impacted me personally,” Mesa Rogers said. “I went to elementary school in Oak Cliff. When I took my first dance class, it was a Folklorico class. The evolution of my life, coming back and running this organization, has been crazy.”
Martinez’s civic work includes the founding of the Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic and securing funding for a renovation of Pike Park in West Dallas. Russ recalled these achievements when addressing students in the symposium.
“Whether it’s in an arts organization or through local government, you can make change happen,” Russ said. “You can influence the lives of individuals, lives of larger communities and local institutions to transform and change. There’s a lot of that happening in Dallas now, but we need more of it, and we need the creativity and the inspiration of the next generation.”
Martinez took nighttime college courses at SMU’s downtown location after being the first in her family to graduate from high school. Decades later, Martinez received an honorary degree at SMU’s May 2022 commencement ceremony.
“Martinez shows us it’s important to understand the past and the history of your community,” Russ said. “Dallas does an excellent job of covering up its history, of sweeping away its history, the ugly parts and sometimes the good parts as well. Everything is always shiny and new, but there’s an important history. Go look at Pike Park, at Saint Ann restaurant in Uptown — the little remnants of Little Mexico are still there.”