Honoring Hispanic Heritage with Arturo & Rosalinda Martinez
Arturo and Rosalinda Martinez are college sweethearts who have built a family and strong careers together while working to honor and preserve Hispanic heritage in Tarrant County. We are proud to count them in our impressive alumni roster as graduates of our 2019 Civic Voices Fellowship.
Both Arturo and Rosalinda work at Tarrant County College District (TCC). Rosalinda works as a community outreach specialist for TCC’s Student Recruitment and Outreach Department and loves engaging with students, parents, families, and community members and sharing TCC’s resources with them. “I come from an immigrant family and I'm a first-generation college student. That changed my trajectory,” shared Rosalinda. “I am passionate about education. I believe every student deserves the same opportunities.”
Arturo works as the district director of creative strategy at TCC and is responsible for creating, conceptualizing, and developing engaging and effective creative campaigns across all campuses. He most enjoys how his work allows him the ability to express creativity through ideation and execution of diverse marketing collateral. Earlier this year, he was selected as a winner of six GDUSA’s American INHOUSE Design Awards in six major categories.
Rosalinda and Arturo at the recent Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 50th Anniversary Gala.
Outside of their work at TCC, this powerhouse couple is very active in the community. Both are founding members of Historians of Latino Americans of Tarrant County, a non-profit organization that aims to research, document, and archive Latina and Latino work and share it with the community. They are also both active in Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education where Rosalinda serves as board secretary for the TCC chapter.
“It's vital that we preserve and share Hispanic Heritage to better understand our history,” shared Arturo. “Education helps us discover, welcome, and explore our Hispanic communities' rich diversity and history.”
“As for me, my Latinidad - cultural heritage and family traditions - is very important,” Rosalinda added. “These cultural differences and backgrounds make us unique individuals. Also, the family values instilled in me by my parents allowed me to connect with my cultural roots and identity. It's my Latinidad that made me who I am today.”
This year, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce selected Arturo as one of the 50 Fort Worth Latino Leaders to be featured in the FWHCC’s 50th-anniversary publication celebrating the leaders who have elevated the chamber and the greater Hispanic community at large and made a lasting impact in the community.
During Hispanic Heritage Month last year, Rosalinda was selected as a contributing author featured in Hispanic Stars Rising: Volume III. Each volume showcases more than 80 stories of U.S. Hispanics with diverse backgrounds, experiences, challenges, and ongoing contributions.
Arturo and Rosalinda standing next to their portraits in the “Living the Dream” mural at Sul Ross State University.
In honor of Cinco de Mayo 2022, Arturo and Rosalinda were nominated and selected by the Sul Ross State University Mural Committee to have their portraits added to the “Living the Dream Mural” on the main campus in Alpine, Texas. This mural depicts images of remarkable Texans of Hispanic descent who have achieved their dreams.
Their community involvement goes even deeper as Rosalinda serves as an ambassador for LGBTQ SAVES and Arturo also serves on the board for Artes de la Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts and on the Fort Worth Art Commission.
Recent empty nesters, Rosalinda enjoys traveling and exploring new hobbies and Arturo enjoys collecting first-edition books. Recently, he has been focusing his collection around the Latino experience, the history of the Mexican culture, and Chicano/a artists and poets.
