Martíneztown, 1945: Tales of Life and Loss in an Albuquerque Barrio

Nasario Garcia’s poignant memoir revisits the 1940s Albuquerque neighborhood of his youth to capture the struggles and joys of growing up in Albuquerque’s oldest barrio.

In the summer of 1945, nine-year-old Junie is transplanted from the idyllic setting of his family ranch in the Río Puerco valley to Albuquerque’s oldest barrio, Martíneztown, home and refuge for Nuevomexicanos seeking better opportunities in the wake of World War II. Young Junie finds comfort in some of the community’s familiar Hispanic traditions as he struggles to learn a new language and navigate this often confusing and challenging new environment. Through the boy’s eyes we meet an extraordinary cast of characters and urban survivors on an intercultural journey into modern New Mexico.

To read this remarkable collection is to enter a time machine and travel into a world where neighbors help neighbors as they celebrate life and confront life’s tragedies and heartaches side by side. These connected stories serve as an elegy for an era too important to relegate to the forgotten past. Martíneztown, 1945 transcends its specific time, place, and culture to become a universal testament to our shared humanity with all of its confounding imperfections and sporadic splendor.

Nasario García has published over thirty books of folklore, poetry, fiction, and children’s stories, including Beyond My Adobe Schoolhouse: My Life in Education (UNM Press).