Education
Ph.D. Yale University, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
M.A. and B.A. University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Interests
- Spanish language (all levels)
- Contemporary Latin American literature and film
- Central American Studies and historical memory
- Latinx Young Adult fiction and popular culture
- Community and Publicly Engaged Humanities
- Peace and Justice Social Movements and Activist Methodologies
Professor Martínez has led service learning trips to El Salvador and Mérida, Mexico. She has published articles and book chapters on learning about Archbishop Oscar Romero in the Special Collections Archives, political violence in Guatemala, the ethnographic memoir by Cuban American writer Ruth Behar, reality television, and crime novels. Her forthcoming book is titled Coming of Age(ncy) on the Migrant Trail: Adolescent Journeys in Contemporary Latinx Young Adult Literature (2025).