Storied Life

Storied Life

When Rueben Martinez set up a barbershop in Santa Ana, Calif., in 1973, he put out two of his favorite books—Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya and Rain of Gold* by Victor Villasenor—for people to read while waiting. 「Customers would get interested, then ask if they could borrow them. I would say, 『No, because I』ll never get them back.』」 After the umpteenth customer asked, Martinez got an idea—and a hammer.

He nailed together his own bookcases and slowly filled them with books. They included translations of popular Spanish authors and bilingual children's books. In six years the shop sold 500,000 books.

Martinez started holding art exhibits, poetry readings and signings. The store—Libreria Martinez Books and Art Gallery—evolved into a community center that draws students, senior citizens and ex-gang members.

In a school district where roughly 80 percent of third-graders have reading scores below the national average, Martinez, 60, has become a one-man literacy campaign. 「I want to build a community of readers,」 he declares. 「I want to make every child a card-carrying library member.」

Reading has always been important to Martinez. As a boy he'd rise early, sneak outside and peruse the newspaper delivered next door before his neighbor woke up. Once, the man caught him. 「That's okay, muchacho,」 he said. 「That's the way to learn.」

To pass that message beyond the bookstore walls, Martinez volunteers in juvenile halls and prisons. 「You have to start reading,」 he tells inmates. 「You have to start learning. The more you learn, the more you earn.」

At least one gang member took heed. Martinez explains, 「I was walking across campus at Santa Ana College when I heard, 『Mr. Martinez!』 This young man said, 『Remember me? I saw you in Los Pinos[juvenile-detention facility]. You told us to try to do something with our lives. When I got out I enrolled in college.』」

Today Martinez restricts his barbering to one or two days a week, though he』s had to struggle to survive as a bookseller. 「We want to stay in business,」 he says. 「But most of all, we want these children to succeed.」