Roberto Martínez (1929-2013) was raised in the small northern New Mexican town of Mora, in the region where the heart of more than four centuries of Southwest Hispanic heritage beats the strongest. His family and people were proud, self-reliant, and generous, though of modest means. He recalled how when he was a young boy he would "play" the music he heard around his family on a guitar that his uncle had made for him out of a gas can. The values and traditions he learned as a youngster left a strong stamp on the person he would be the rest of his life. As an adult, he moved to Denver, and then to Albuquerque to work for the U.S. Air Force as a civilian. In his free time, he played Mexican and New Mexican music with the trio Los Reyes de Albuquerque (The Kings of Albuquerque) . He passed on his musical talents to his children, and he launched a record label, Minority Owned Record Enterprises.

Related Content: “El Rey de Alburquerque: Roberto Martínez and His New Mexican Mariachi: A Transnational Legacy"