Martineztown is one of Albuquerque's older, predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. In the early 1970s, South Martineztown met the Federal standards for designation as a "blighted area," making it eligible to receive federal monies for urban renewal. The monies were part of Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty. Urban Renewal wanted to move the residents out of the area and sell the land to Albuquerque Public Schools for a new high school. The City of Albuquerque neglected to involve the Martineztown community in the planning process. Residents were angered when they were told that they would be relocated and organized to fight the proposed plan. The Citizens' Information Committee (CIC), a locally controlled, grassroots organization was formed to educate and inform residents of their options. The efforts of the residents, CIC, and others, led to redefinition of the project from relocation to rehabilitation of the neighborhood.
Vincent Martinez was a student at the University of New Mexico at the time he conducted these interviews.
Sources: Martineztown Community Plan. Citizens' Information Committee, 1971. "En Unidad Hay Poder": Community Activism and Ethnicity in South Martineztown, 1930-1974. Vanessa M. Macías, MA Thesis, 2004.
From the guide to the South Martineztown urban renewal project oral history interviews, 1998, (Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico.)
