Michael M. Chemers interviews Alma Martinez

Abstract

This chapter features the celebrated actress and scholar Dr. Alma Martinez, interviewed by the book’s editor. Martinez has performed in more than 100 major theatrical productions in the United States, Europe, and Mexico, and has starred in a number of well-known feature films including Zoot Suit, Born in East LA, Strike One, and Clemency. Martinez discusses her experiences being a young actress while also an immigrant to the United States, her role in the “Chicano Renaissance” of the 1970s, and her first experiences with El Teatro Campesino (the theatre company of Luis Valdez). She goes on to talk about playing in Zoot Suit on Broadway and in film, the relationship of Valdez’s work to the larger Civil Rights Movement in the United States, and her long career working with El Teatro Campesino, which she recognizes has only become more politically relevant as time goes on. Martinez is also candid about her own career as an actress and the dangers that a young Mexican woman had to face in Hollywood. Edited transcript of conversation, October 28, 2020, La Verne, CA and Santa Cruz, CA