By Jane Nguyen
Known for his literary works about immigrants and Chicano Studies, author and professor, Rubén Martínez, has been awarded UC Santa Barbara’s 17th annual Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature.
Author and Professor, Rubén Martínez, is UC Santa Barbara’s 17th annual Luis Leal Award recipient.
Martínez was honored in a virtual ceremony on Tuesday sponsored by several departments and programs, including the Latin American and Iberian Studies program and the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies.
The award memorializes Luis Leal, a distinguished professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCSB, who was internationally recognized as a leading scholar of Chicano and Latino literature. It is given to those who have made strides in the field.
“I was always struck by how astute, articulate and charismatic Rubén was,” Mario T. García, a professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies and affiliate faculty in Latin American and Iberian Studies.
“He has always provided critical observations of U.S. society, culture and politics through this deep body of work over the decades. Rubén Martínez is a Latino Renaissance man and highly deserving of the Leal Award,” García told UCSB’s The Current.
Martínez has accomplished himself in the field in various mediums, such as performing arts, mass media, music, and the publication of books such as "The Other Side: Notes from the New L.A., Mexico City, and Beyond.”
In the late 1990s, Martínez was part of UC Santa Barbara’s Chicano Studies Department and had met Luis Leal multiple times and even borrowed his office during his time of teaching. Now, Martínez teaches English and is the Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature & Writing at Loyola Marymount University.
Jane Nguyen is a fourth year majoring in Communication and minoring in Applied Psychology. She is a Web and Social Media intern with the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.