Meet our 2024-2025 Distinguished Faculty, English Professor, Donato Martinez!
Donato Martinez was born in a small pueblo, Garcia de la Cadena, Zacatecas, Mexico and immigrated into USA at six years old. He has many recollections of the humble beginnings of his family, but also remembers the lessons instilled from his parents about the importance of hard work. Since he grew up with six siblings, he knows far too well about sharing clothes and meals, hand me downs, noises, and cramped spaces. Donato has always been interested in people watching and eavesdropping on the conversations of older adults. Many times, he was caught, and then reprimanded and scolded to go play with his cousins. His curiosity and travieso ways have continued into adulthood. After immigrating, his family settled in Corona, in a barrio, Home Gardens, for many years. There he learned many instrumental lessons in navigating the streets, dodging trouble, solving conflicts, and saving money.
Donato graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Humanities and a minor in Chicano Studies at Cal Poly Pomona after changing his major from Architecture. While at Cal Poly Pomona, he found a love for reading and writing; in fact, he took a foundational class in expressive writing that proved to be a catalyst for his creative endeavors. With no plans and little idea of what to do with a major in Humanities, Donato pursued a Master’s in Comparative Literature at Cal State Fullerton. During the summer breaks he started to teach for various programs such as Summer Bridge, Upward Bound, and Migrant Education. These early experiences proved to be valuable as he started to see himself as an instrument of change. While finishing his graduate work he taught classes in the Chicano Studies Department. Shortly thereafter, he became an adjunct professor in the English Department at Santa Ana College.
At Santa Ana College, he has taught classes in Basic Grammar, English Composition, Literature, Creative Writing, and Chicano Studies. With Reina Sanabria he has been a co-coordinator of the Puente Program for 24 years. The Puente Program started in 1981 at Chabot College, but Martinez and Sanabria have been the longest running team of coordinators in the state since that time.
Donato hosts and curates many artistic events that feature poetry and music at SAC and in the community. These events generate large crowds and active participation. He is also a poet and writes about his barrio upbringing, his community, his culture, his bi-cultural and bilingual identities. He is influenced by the sounds and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language. He has a self-published collection with three other Inland Empire poets, Tacos de Lengua. His work has been published in both online and print magazines and journals. His full-length collection of poetry, Touch the Sky, was published in 2023 by El Martillo Press. He loves the outdoors and is inspired by music and books and other artistic expressions, and his children, Gabriel and Abigail.
Donato loves teaching and has been doing this for 28 years at Santa Ana College. He is passionate about working with low-income, first-generation community college students. He loves to witness their growth and be a positive influence on their journey. One would think that he is ready to slow down after many years of teaching, but he is as driven, motivated, and ambitious as he was when he first was hired as a full-time instructor. Donato teaches about the power of writing and the power of tapping into emotions to heal past trauma through guided journals or narrative assignments. He shares this important message to students – “No one will read it if you do not write it.” It has been the key to his teaching for so many years.
Let's congratulate our Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty, Donato Martinez!
We look forward to his lecture on
Thursday, February 27th, 2025
4p-6p at SAC's Philips Hall
Stay tuned for more information.
