Maria Saliby  0:01  

Okay, so my first question for you is going to be, or my first few are going to be some basic ones about your family in your background. And of course, remember that you don't have to share anything you're not comfortable with, and you can choose to skip the question if you want to talk kind of not too quiet.

 

First, could you start off by sharing where your family is from and your childhood and how you grew up?

 

Joey Martinez  0:36  

Yeah, my family so... My grandparents on my mom's side immigrated, my grandma from Colombia, and my grandpa from Italy. And then on my dad's side, my grandpa immigrated from Argentina, my grandma on my dad's side from Spain. It's a good mix. And then both my parents were born in the US, so me, my sibling was also born here, so that's kind of what we do. I was born in Massachusetts. Don't remember. I was just a baby, until we moved to Florida. I was there for like, about a year I think. It was a nice place, good area, lot of hurricanes, though, like we see now. It was nice.. Nice to meet a lot more of the Hispanic population there than anywhere else. That's basically when I grew up in my neighborhood, in that in Florida, like the whole block, like the whole neighborhood was just all other Hispanic, Latino families. 

 

Maria Saliby  1:36  

That's cool. 

 

Joey Martinez  1:36  

So, as we had and then we decided, my parents decided to go before we lived in Massachusetts, my parents and my sister lived in Virginia. And then after Florida, we moved back to Virginia. Well, they moved back out. That was my first time in Virginia. So 2008, like I said earlier we got there. Grew up in Northern Virginia. I went to saints, elementary Washington, urban middle school, and then West Springfield High School. Very good. I liked the area. It was nice. I had a lot of friends growing up. Very diverse area. Met a lot of different people from a lot of different places. It's very obvious when you see that at my schools, communities that I grew up in, through extra curriculars and sports, honor societies, Boy Scouts, I'm an Eagle scout. I just just did stuff, you know, now go to VCU.

 

Maria Saliby  2:41  

Nice. You said. Boy Scouts. And what?

 

Joey Martinez  2:44  

Eagle Scout,

 

Maria Saliby  2:45  

Eagle Scout. Oh, cool! I forgot that existed. That's cool. Awesome. Okay, so we'll go on to the second question. So can you tell me a little bit about your educational trajectory? Like, where did, oh, wait, you kind of already told me that, never mind, we can skip that, because I think you already covered that. 

 

Joey Martinez  3:04  

What was was the question? 

 

Maria Saliby  3:05  

Your educational trajectory, like where you went to school and your highest level of education achieved.

 

Joey Martinez  3:10  

Achieved? Yeah, so high level education achieved was my high school diploma. It was [inaudible] high school, 

 

Maria Saliby  3:16  

West Springfield?

 

Joey Martinez  3:17  

West Springfield High School, yeah my fault. And then.. Now I'm pursuing my bachelor's.. Or is there a question later to ask me that? 

 

Maria Saliby  3:23  

No, you can continue.

 

Joey Martinez  3:24  

yeah yeah I'm pursuing my bachelor's in international studies with a concentration in Latin American Studies and double minoring in Spanish and history.

 

Maria Saliby  3:33  

Whoa, busy busy. That's awesome. Cool. Okay, did you ever grow up with religion in your family? If so, can you tell me a little about it?

 

Joey Martinez  3:46  

Definitely, when I was younger, my dad wanted us to be like more of a Catholic household, so we'd go to church every Sunday. I would go to like uhm Sunday school, CCD to you know get my communion, do my confirmation, things like that. And then we kind of, like, just stopped doing that. Later on, as I got older, like, we kind of stopped going to church, we went at like Christmas or Easter, and then it just kind of phased out. It doesn't really have a big part of my life anymore. And that part of that is because, like, I think my dad later on, like, he just stopped being... He converted to Islam, actually, in 2019 so he doesn't really.. He's not Catholic, yeah, so not much of a Catholic house anymore.

 

Maria Saliby  4:37  

I see. Okay, so now, if you don't mind, we'll move on to the next questions that we'll talk about.. How your family got to Virginia, specifically. 

 

So how did you come to live in Virginia and how long have you lived here. And.. you already said you lived in Florida before though right? 

 

Joey Martinez  5:05  

Yeah uhh well.. My grandparents, all of them, migrated here before getting to Virginia. My grandparents on my mom's side... My mom grew up in Massachusetts. That's where she was born and raised. So my grandparents on my moms side lived there. And my dad was born here in New York, but then he later moved to Argentina when he was a kid, too, and grew up there as well. But when he, they came.. Yeah, he just came back. And he went school in Boston, where my mom was going to school, that's how they met. And then my grandparents, on my dad's side, stayed in Argentina. They didn't come back. So my parents were together, and they moved around, and they eventually settled in Virginia, basically trying to do more government work. That's where they were more suited towards. So that's basically how they started living here. And then they had my sister. They just, out of everywhere they'd lived with kids, they picked Virginia to be the best one. So yeah, that's why I'm here.

 

Maria Saliby  6:07  

Awesome, cool. Um, did any family members still living.. Hold on.

 

Do you have any family members still living in the country of origin, and are you close to them and do you get to see them often? I know you said your parents like were born here, but their ties back home?

 

Joey Martinez  6:28  

So like Colombia or Argentina? 

 

Maria Saliby  6:29  

Yeah.

 

Joey Martinez  6:31  

I have one my dad's aunt. He has one aunt still alive in Spain. And for Colombia, a lot, a lot, a lot of uncles, cousins, aunts, like, just all around there. Directly, like, to me, like the most direct one is, I'd say my grandm a's little sister is her only sibling still alive down in Colombia. And then, yeah, and my grandpa on my mom's side passed away. And both of my grandparents, my dad's side passed away, but my aunt on my dad's side still lives Argentina now too, and I don't really get to see them. I haven't seen my aunt in.. I wanna say, Geez, maybe like.... eight years now in person, and then probably, like... Six or seven years since I've seen my family in Colombia. Big thing is just money, and big things too was the quarantine, covid, that kind of shut down travel and all that. But I also now just don't have money to travel and see them. They don't really want to travel here to America either, so it's just like, not really a much chance, but I would like to go back.

 

Maria Saliby  7:48  

So it's been how long since you've been able to.. have you been going back?

 

Joey Martinez  7:53  

The last time I was in Colombia was 2018, and last time I was in Argentina was 2015.

 

Maria Saliby  7:59  

Okay, wow. So, like, not recent, but recently, but yeah.. closer to not

 

Joey Martinez  8:08  

Compared to my lifetime its.... not haha

 

Maria Saliby  8:10  

Yeah, no hahaha. Do you guys still get to talk to each other, like virtually?

 

Joey Martinez  8:17  

No yeah, we have WhatsApp, so we can talk, text, call, like anyway.. Anytime, all these modes of communication.. it makes it easy.  

 

Maria Saliby  8:29  

Do you have any family living, like, within Richmond City?

 

Joey Martinez  8:35  

Any family here? No, my sister used to go to school here, but she graduated in 2022, and she hasn't lived here since then so it's been me here in Richmond..

 

Maria Saliby  8:49  

 Oh, I see.

 

Okay. Next we're going to talk a little bit about lin Virginia specific, which.. Yeah.. I mean more specific haha. How has your experience been in the Latino community here? Oh, wait, I'm sorry I missed a question. What was it like when you first moved here?

 

Joey Martinez  9:12  

To Richmond?

 

Maria Saliby  9:13  

 Yeah, or like Virginia/Richmond in general? 

 

Joey Martinez  9:16  

Um, talking about Virginia in general. I'll start with that.

 

I was just a kid, so I didn't really like, tend to notice these things as much. But looking back now, like as I was in, like high school, it was a very diverse community. Northern Virginia is a big big hub for, you know, Latin Americans. Just people from like El Salvador and Bolivia.. Those are very big communities up in Virginia. So there's a very large Latin American community. It's very prevalent, very like, noticeable, and Yeah. So, I do appreciate be able to, like, see, like..  Grow up as a kid, not really like, seeing people like me all the time.. Like I did see, you know.. Other Latinos at school but I also saw many African Americans, many Asian, white.. People from all around the world. It was just something I didn't register like as being like, Wow. I really appreciate that. But it was like, it just came naturally. It was normal for me to see so many different people, and grow up learning these different things being around them. It was a really nice thing. 

 

Coming to Richmond, I was here for school so didn't really know anyone at all, really, just like my roommate a little bit, was a randomly choosed. So, barely knew him. And I just really.. I just really did find community here on campus with the Latinx Student Association. Honestly, very welcoming. Just a home away from home, kind of.. I wasn't really in, like, the biggest like.. emphasized.. Like, I didn't grow up in a household that emphasized being Latino, but like, being around people that, like, I already had some some interest with.. You know, to be able to break the ice and just get to know it really was community, like, from the start, and that's why I really loved it. And I became part of the E board and president now, and I just really enjoy the club. It's very great space for everyone here on campus, not just for Latinos, but anyone that wants to learn more or has friends like that. Awesome. It's a very nice thing. That's where, obviously, that's what it felt like being Latinos, to be able to have community wherever you go. That's awesome.

 

Maria Saliby  11:18  

I love that... Yeah, no really. Now I know how you became president!

 

Anyways, so do you think that that's kind of changed over time, well, in a way, like from when you first got to Richmond? Do you think like you've gotten stronger ties with people that you're around, like, compared to like when you were just going to school and not in a club or anything like that. Do you feel a closer connection to the people?

 

Joey Martinez  11:54  

I would say, yeah, like.. I have a much closer connection to, like, my friends and like the rest of the executive board. Like being with members is like, always being a friend to all, like, that's what I would say. My role as the President is like just being there for them and also running the board, managing and helping out all the projects. But most of all, it's like you're the face of the work. So you have to be, you know, you should want to also be friendly. [intelligable] you know, it's a lot of things to remember, a lot of things to do. It's just, yeah, I do feel like I just have more of a responsibility, and I want to be able to do that, to be close with everyone in this, or make them feel at home. That's the thing. Like I received that welcome, nobody treated me. I want to give that to everyone else too here, because you never know who's struggling, like, with homesickness or doesn't really know their place here at VCU. And being able to help with that and provide some like, some options is a nice thing. So I do feel like, Yeah, I do have a closer connection to since when I started here to the latin community. And honestly, being on the board has opened my doors to a lot of other faculty advisors, local businesses, things like that that are Latino Latinx, you know? So, yeah.

 

Maria Saliby  13:09  

very cool.

 

Joey Martinez  13:10  

Really helped me branch out. Awesome.

 

Maria Saliby  13:12  

I love that. Okay and what, I mean.. I kind of feel like you answered this question about, like, your experience with the Latino community here, and so we'll kind of go outside of that. What is your experience been with those outside of the Latino community?

 

Joey Martinez  13:32  

Always very good still. Yeah. I mean, even as soon as I came here too like, I didn't know anyone, and I did find home with the Latinx Student Association. But I also just like walking around campus, going to classes in my dorms. I just met so many different people. Like, I have so many friends that are African American, many Vietnamese, Filipino.. What else? Indian, Bengali friends, Pakistani, Palestinian, many, many different people, friends from many different places.. Lebanese is another big one. 

 

Honestly, like, yeah, and my white friends as well. I just meet so many different people. Like VCU is also another thing, like its a very diverse school as well. I just feel like my element, like being around anyone, really, it doesn't matter who they are. Like, I can just.. That's the thing, that's a skill I pride myself on. It's a trait that I think really did help me to, like, become a more approachable person and be like someone that could be on board. Because being on board for, you know, supervision, you have to be approachable and kind, you know and outgoing, that's a big thing. I really do feel like an outgoing person. And it doesn't matter who it is, I'll just talk with him. I can just make conversation, get known them, and make a connection. And, yeah, I mean, no matter who you are, everyone's a human. 

 

Maria Saliby  14:56  

Yeah, rightfully, yeah. Um, personable. It seems like that's that trait, very personable. Um. So what are some of your biggest obstacles that you've encountered in your county of residence, like Richmond here?

 

Joey Martinez  15:19  

Like, does it like? Doesn't mean like, any like, a challenge that I faced, like, because of who I am, or like, it's a challenge because, like, I'm alive. Like, this is.. I'm going through life right now. Like, what's the biggest challenge?

 

Maria Saliby  15:31  

Haha, however you feel because it's not specific. So.

 

Joey Martinez  15:38  

yeah, I want to say a big thing was job hunting for sure. Like, I've been stressing. Last year, I was really stressing about finding an internship. Luckily, I did, and my mom was, you know, breathing down my neck, like, showing a lot of different places to apply to and sending it to me, and I did, you know. And it was just a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot a lot of.. Uh rejection. So that was the biggest kind of like, put down, you know, because I do a lot of things, you know, that I can put on a resume, like that I am president of a super organization. I make good grades, I take a lot of good courses. I have a lot of great skills, experience that I've applied. And it's just, like, very, very tough to keep hearing, you know, rejection after rejection. But I'm just really, I'm very thankful that I did get an internship position at the BMHC. It's a very good opportunity, I like working there too.

 

 Honestly, another challenge too was just work life balance. There's a lot of things going on in life that you want to have time for, like, the things you enjoy in life, too. It's just hard with work, school, and I chose to have to be a part of an org too you know, like, there's just a lot going on.. And I fractured my wrist, so it's kind of, like, slowed me down. The things, like, getting ready is just longer.. Like, when I first broke it, I just didn't want to do anything. So, like it does have a mental toll on you too, like, things just get so hard that you just don't even want to try to do it. But you have to, you know..  Really lock in, concentrate, and make sure you can still take care of yourself in order to keep excelling in whatever you want to do. 

 

Maria Saliby  17:17  

Hmm, yeah. Very real man.

 

Joey Martinez  17:18  

I'm trying, hah. 

 

Maria Saliby  17:20  

Yeah, I'm sorry about your wrist though. 

 

What kind of resources have you found here to help you with your life? And have you benefited from the help of any orgs like yours, or from individuals besides like what you've already kind of explained?

 

Joey Martinez  17:40  

I'd say I have benefited from my org, because you meet a lot of people by knowing a lot of people. You make a lot of connections to other people through them. I got my job here at the student comms through a friend on the board. She already worked at The Commons. And the way you get a job there is, like, by someone recommending you, and you just get the interview, and they're like.. Yeah, you get a job. And so luckily, I knew her and I was like, "Oh, would you recommend me for this? Like, I need a job. I need money. I gotta start paying some more bills.. I need more money." And so I was able to get that..

 

Resources here at VCU... [pause] I mean, not really anything has helped me to succeed, like, I mean, nothing.Academically, I've just worked myself. I asked my friends, you know, could you look over this for me? I'm struggling this. I have a professor maybe. I got my jobs, you know, my internship at the Museum of History and Culture.. That was all me. I mean, yeah, like, sometimes, [pause] I don't know, yeah, there hasn't really been things that have been for me. I think, like, what I struggle with most is things outside of school my career, like issues with bills, or, you know, house damages. Like, real life, daily real life things that haven't really, you know, I've never experienced them. I Had to deal with them since I didn't have my parents if I have a question. I don't really have a resource here like that to help with that. We have the the Dean of Student Affairs.. yeah, that's here, over here too. But they don't, they don't really like have that connection to care about what happens outside, and it's their job to like, they have hours like they're not always going to be around. But you know, I am very grateful for my org and the friends I made through that. That's a resource I really appreciate, making connections.

 

Maria Saliby  19:42  

That's awesome. Well, you know, bittersweet, but let's go on to the next question. Can you tell me about your current job at the museum and here at VCU, and any other jobs you've had?

 

Joey Martinez  19:57  

Yeah, my job at The Student Commons. I'm a facilities assistant and an information assistant. So as a facilities assistant, you basically just set up rooms for events and, you know, organize them. So depending on how many chairs they need, your tables, and how they want to arrange. That's what I do. I set them up. And as an information Assistant, you're basically just working the front desk at the Commons, and you take calls and transfer them to what departments they need to be at. And honestly, just if anyone comes up to you, you just help them out with where they have to go, what they need. They have a lost and found at The Commons, things like that. 

 

And as an intern, I'm an education intern at the museum here on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. And as an education intern is to just to learn about Virginia history, and my role is to teach it to.. I do programs for fourth graders, and sometimes middle and high schoolers, just teaching about Virginia history. So I do gallery tours or also work in the classroom. Just give presentations, yeahh.

 

Maria Saliby  21:00  

That's cool. I didn't know they had Classrooms in there.

 

Joey Martinez  21:04  

No yeah they just like, like.. The exhibits are on one floor and then it's below it, you have to go around to a different entrance and you'd be at the classroom section. 

 

Maria Saliby  21:15  

Very cool.

 

Um, okay, so next we're going to talk a little bit more about your organization and business you're involved with. How did you end up working for the orgs or businesses that you're involved with?

 

Joey Martinez  21:36  

How did I end up working with Commons? Yeah, I worked at comms because I just had a friend that was working there. It's only about [intelligible]. I can, I can do that for sure. It's no struggle for me to do that. And then I mentioned that job at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.. I was just going through, Indeed, looking at internships and applying, applying, applying. And I got a call back from them, and I came for an interview, then they said they would like to offer me the position. And I took it instantly.

 

Maria Saliby  22:06  

Wow. I'm glad that an Indeed job posting actually followed through, cause I know it's hard sometimes. Um, and then for the Latinx club?

 

Joey Martinez  22:18  

The Latinx Student Association. I basically.. They have, like, they post about applications to be on the E Board. I applied to be one of the sports chairs. Basically they just like, organize teams for each of our leagues. We do pick up games, organize tournaments, things like that. Just to keep members active, promote, like, physical and mental health within the org, and so yeah. And through that, I ran for President, and I'm in my second year as president.

 

Maria Saliby  22:53  

Wow. So what are major issues that you've dealt with, and have the needs of the people you served changed over time.

 

If you.. 

 

Joey Martinez  23:09  

Can you repeat the question again?

 

Maria Saliby  23:14  

What are some major issues that you've dealt with, and have the people have the needs of the people that you serve teach over time. 

 

Joey Martinez  23:22  

So the biggest struggle I have is, like, kind of that friend and professional balance. Because while I do want to be friends with everyone, I am a friend to all. I get along with everyone. I always want to be able to help everyone out. But you know, at some points I am President, I have to make decisions that aren't going to be the best for everyone. Some people are going to like it. Some people aren't, but that's for me to decide, a lot of things on, like the board too. We're all very close. We do a lot of work together, spend a lot of time together, but sometimes you make calls that are some people aren't going to agree with, and I am other like a people pleaser. So I want to be able to make I want to make everyone, you know, satisfied, happy with what's going on. I want to make sure everyone is doing good. But I can't do it all the time. It's some things just have my control, and I just have to accept that too. But I always try my best.

 

 And the needs of the people that I serve like hasn't really changed like, because our mission as the student organization is to promote Latinx culture here on campus and make sure everyone's included. And I feel like that's what we've been providing ever since. We make sure we can let everyone be part as much as they can. Well, however, you do have to be a member to, like, go to our events too.. But like, we make sure that if you're a member, you're going to get, like, the full experience that we all received too when we were members as well. Like, we want everyone to have that same feeling of, "Wow, this amazing. I wish I could be part of this too," and give that then pass it on to someone else. Like, that is what, like, I feel you give to them. Because a need, I think, is like community. A lot of people coming to school, like, people come to school to learn about themselves too, and learn about who they are, where they fit in. It's not all about fitting in, but, you know, where's your community? Who do you feel the most comfortable with? Who are you like having fun with? Like, that's what we provide, it's that community and all welcome to join.

 

Maria Saliby  25:19  

Yeah, makes sense. I love that. Okay, next, so, how is your personal experience shaped the way you pursue your organization, slash business?

 

Joey Martinez  25:39  

I mean, honestly, what I said earlier, like, I had such a great time here at VCU. I made some of my closest friends through the Latinx Student Association. I want to just give that back. That's like, exactly why.. That's what I pursue, is to give that same drive to others. That they want a community, and they have a community with us. That's why I continue to build that community, and enrich it through events, donors, fundraisers, anything like that.

 

Maria Saliby  26:11  

Awesome. And being the president, can you talk about an initiative, a campaign, or specific program that you've been involved with.. like if you can answer that yes, and if you think it's redundant you can skip it.

 

Joey Martinez  26:25  

Something big.. I really like working on this too because this is an issue that I am passionate about. like, is what's going on with Palestine now still, and we've been working still since last semester and before. Like we've collaborated with the Students for Justice of Palestine. We collaborate with them to have events for raising awareness, raising funds. We're doing that this semester and next semester as well. That's sort of like, it's a role for our service chairs. But I also involve myself in the meetings and the planning, because that's something I am passionate about. That is my most like.. I am very proud of you know, the increased amount of members we've had these past few semesters. But most importantly, I like raising awareness for the biggest issues going on in the world right now. And that of my degree is as well, it's focusing on issues around the world. And through my role as President right now, I want to do whatever I can to sort of bring that awareness and provide some change. Even as little as it means coming from here in Richmond, Virginia, all the way to Palestine, still matters.

 

Maria Saliby  26:26  

Yeah, I love that. Awesome. And do you have future plans for the organization?

 

Joey Martinez  27:40  

I mean, my plan is to just have a successful year right now. I want to be able to, you know, get as many members to come out to as many events as possible. To make sure everyone's having fun, everyone's safe. I don't want anyone to feel left out. As for after.. This is my last year, hopefully at VCU, it should be my last year. So this will be my last year as president as well. And I want LSA to keep this momentum going. I feel like I want the next presidents to also have that same drive that we have and just keep the whole organization afloat. So until forever, I guess I don't want to see it go down or sink, because, you know, people lost interest. People lost that passion. So I really think my biggest goal is to pass the torch on to people that will really keep it going.

 

Maria Saliby  28:37  

I love it. Now, that'll be the end of questions regarding like your organization or business. The next few that we're going to talk about will be regarding your experiences during the covid, 19 pandemic. Okay, and remember, you can feel free to decline or skip any that you want.

 

Joey Martinez  28:57  

Mhm.

 

Maria Saliby  29:00  

So where were you living during the pandemic when it started, and how did you first learn about it?

 

Joey Martinez  29:04  

I was living in Northern Virginia when it happened. and I first heard of it I mean, I was like, it was all building up before it reached the United States. So like, social media, the news, everyone was  talking about it, and then everyone got the same, you know, notification that schools are being canceled, and then I was just at home. I was living my mom at the time, basically we just stayed inside, that's all that changed. I just was inside forever now. Yeah, I just was inside. Later on, my dad was also living in Charlottesville with his wife at the time too, because my step sister was going to school there. They have their schools for accommodating for, you know, some of her disabilities. So that's where he would be. And when he started some time there, he would come back to Northern Virginia as well. And. I would go a week with my mom, and eventually spend some with my dad too where he was so I could see my both my parents. It was a good thing.

Maria Saliby  30:11  

I see, yeah and even during covid. Um, were you able to work from home? And how did you and your family deal with all the abrupt changes? Like The Stay At Home orders, like, besides what you've already shared, and were you able to, like, still work?

 

Joey Martinez  30:32  

Yeah, I didn't work. I was just in high school at the time. So my parents.. I didn't have to work, really, thankfully, my parents could provide for me and my sibling. Yeah, my dad's a software engineer, so he can work anywhere in the world as long as he can get WiFi. Doesn't matter where he is. He works online fully. My mom also she works online most of the time as well. She only had to go into the office a couple of days a month, so it just changed to her going no days a month. So it didn't really have an impact on how much they could work. So really, honestly, I just was doing nothing, really for a while, until school started up again online, and then I just had to do my work from home and do zoom classes. That was about it.

 

Maria Saliby  31:20  

 Was that challenging for you, and having never been to college before, like in an in person setting?

 

Joey Martinez  31:26  

I had some.. I did online school for high school and then going into college.. Luckily, like that was the time when it was still kind of like hybrid at the time. So some of my classes were in person, others were not in person. I did still, like, there was still some covid protocols my freshman year, and then next year, they all kind of stopped. But yeah, I mean, I think I got the full like regular college experience by sophomore year, even though I still felt like I was still getting regular experience my first year. You know, I would have my dorms. I could go to get food or a while, you know, I didn't have to stay anywhere. I didn't have to stay inside, only online classes, which is only like some, you know, partial things like online classes, wearing masks, all those things, just to be safe. But I could still do almost all the things I do now.

 

Maria Saliby  32:19  

Yeah, being in the dorm during then must have been interesting, because you're, you know, supposed to be social distancing,  but can't really in the dorm.

 

Joey Martinez  32:28  

I know, so you could just, like, wear.. you would have you wear a mask, like when you were in the lobbies. But once you're on your floor, it didn't matter, like..

 

Maria Saliby  32:37  

Thats cool if your roommate was your friend, then you kinda of quarantine together. 

 

Joey Martinez  32:41  

Exactly.

 

Maria Saliby  32:42  

Interesting! Pretty cool. Um, okay, were any family members, friends or someone you were close to severely impacted by covid? And if so, could you tell me a little bit?

 

Joey Martinez  33:04  

I would say my godmother, she had a brother at the time, he was down in California, and we all lived in Virginia, so different sides of the country. Basically, he was a very outgoing person like myself. He was just a very like.. He enjoyed being around people and being able to, like, interact with people and like, that's kind of what his work was. He was acting... He wanted to be an actor. And so at the time, he was doing that, likesmall roles and also being a personal trainer as well to make some money. But I guess things weren't really going well, must have taken a toll on him mentally, and he took his own life.. Umm,  during quarantine. Uhm.. that's what they ruled it. And so it was a big impact for him to be able to do that, and it was also a big for my godmother and the rest of her family as well, to lose a brother, a son and uncle. 

 

Maria Saliby  34:05  

Im so sorry..

 

Joey Martinez  34:06  

Its okay.

 

Maria Saliby  34:06  

That must have been so hard.

 

Joey Martinez  34:06  

But yeah, it was tough for me. He was also, you know, like an uncle to me, you know. And like before I was born, you know, my dad would tell me that, like when he first met him, he was just like 12 years old, I think, like a kid basically still. Like he told me about how, like that was, like his son before me, like he just kind of got a little bit of experience of what it would be like if he had a son of his own. It was a big loss. Big loss.

 

Maria Saliby  34:14  

I'm sure. I'm really sorry, that is not easy.. really.

 

Um, do you think.. How do you think Latinos are impacted by the pandemic? Do you know many people who got vaccinated?

 

Joey Martinez  34:53  

I mean, everyone I knew, got vaccinated. I would say, though, just like.. Like looking at it from what we have now, like many, many, many, like immigrants from Latin America, typically don't get the best jobs. They get starter positions like working in restaurants as cooks or servers, or construction jobs, things like that that require you be somewhere in person. I'm sure it took a big hit on all these families to not be able to have access to, like, steady work during this whole time where you had to stay at home. But a lot of these families can't do that. They don't have the option to work at home. They don't have jobs like that. They don't have the money to be able to order in groceries, just to save social distancing. So I'm sure it was a big, big struggle for Latino Latina community here in Virginia to be able to support themselves and their families, like they used to. It was, it was out of the control, a big hit.

 

Maria Saliby  36:00  

And now we're nearing the end. Just have a few more final questions. if that's okay..

 

Joey Martinez  36:07  

that's all okay.

 

Maria Saliby  36:08  

Ok cool haha.

 

Um, do you feel like you belong in Richmond? And is there anything that prevented you from feeling a sense of belonging? And then we talked a lot about community, so I'm sure it gives you a sense of belonging.

 

Joey Martinez  36:22  

Honestly, I do feel a belonging here in Richmond. Honestly, I feel a belonging Nova too. That's where my family is. I grew up there. But I would lean towards Richmond more, because I'd say some of my best experiences have been down here at college. These are, like my best friends. I see them every day. It's a good thing. I mean, after graduation, I do really want to try to live here. I want to find work here in Richmond so I can live here. I want to start my professional career here. I would like to do that, just to live in Richmond. I do love the city. It's got a lot of history to it, you know, and it's nice, I do like Richmond. I love NOVA too but I mean, I could find.. You know, a sense of belonging anywhere, really. I mean, I've only lived in like, couple places. So, I mean, I'd be fine anywhere. But I really feel like Richmond is where I've made my biggest impact, so I'd like to stay here.

 

Maria Saliby  37:18  

Nice! I like that.

 

So we'll go on to the next. Sorry, what do you think? Or, yeah, what do you think of the issue of immigration, and like, how it's talked about by politicians? Do you have any thoughts on it?

 

Joey Martinez  37:39  

Not that's an issue or anything, because a lot of this uhm.. it's a lot of fear mongering. That's all it is. Is right here for politicians, it never is talk about the actual processes they have in place to allow for legal immigration. They don't expose the truths behind all this waiting, all this denials for asylum when there are true issues going on that people are running from. It's not all just, you know, "oh, you're only looking for money, you know, you're trying to find better jobs." No, there's so much more going on, and so hard to prove that. And all we have are specialists from the US to appear in these courts who haven't lived in these countries to truly understand what's happening and vouch for these immigrants coming in seeking better, safer lives.

 

 And so you know, politicians, they, you know, build off the fear of saying, look at you know, immigrants. They come here. Trump's saying they're all drug dealers and rapists. That's not true at all, whatsoever. Like, the smallest portion, you know, of immigration, like, it's not even that.. like, 50% of these immigrants coming in are legal. Like, less than 30% are illegal. There's so much new immigration coming into this country.. Work visas, things like that are happening. And they don't talk about, you know, immigrants from, you know, Bangladesh, coming in from Southeast Asia, or Eastern Europe, or Africa. They don't talk about those groups. They only want to talk about Latin America. They don't want to see certain groups coming in, even though, you know, this country's relied on the cheap labor coming in from Latin America for decades now, over a century. Some probably. But they only want to just, I don't know what it is, I really just don't get it. Why they focus so hard on Latin Americans as being these, you know, "vicious" what they say, that's not true at all. But what they say are, you know, these "savages" coming in. They're not at all. It's just families and people trying to find a home and better life.

 

Maria Saliby  39:43  

Yes, facts. So we'll move on to the next question, because I really think that was well said.

 

Well, actually, there's something else if you'd like to add. What would you like them to know about Latinos? like these politicians, if you would want to tell them something.

 

Joey Martinez  40:05  

So I would let them know that like the media.. not just politicians.. but this whole country, to not only go off what they learned through the media, social media, the news media, Hollywood, YouTube. Like, there's been so much history of, you know, branding Latinos as you know, it's been going off for centuries now, as the banditos, or as you know, the drug dealers, narcos, you know. Now we just see them as you know, the help, like maids and, you know, people that work on lawns, the like, that's all we see on TV of Latinos. Like, there's so much that they do that's.. that's the biggest reason that my parents want us to live in Florida, because they wanted me and my sister grow up seeing, you know, Latinos not as just these people in these small roles, but they are doctors, lawyers, they have, they get degrees. There's a very big Latino population in Florida, Miami, especially, that's where I grew up. Well I didn't grow up there, I lived there for like, a year. That was, that was a place where there's so many Latinos that are eventually going to be, you know, doctors, lawyers, politicians, people in these very important positions that matter, and you'll never see that, you know, somewhere in Minnesota, you know, Texas. So that's a big thing, is to be able to have more exposure to.. that Latinos can do so much. They can do literally everything that anyone else can do. And I want people to just, not just go off the media and what they're reading and seeing because they have no idea what's happening. Never trust just one source about anything that's happening.

 

Maria Saliby  41:51  

Yes, yes that was really all said again. We'll move on to the next question. Actually, what would you like the public to know from your story? And what would you like students like myself to take away from this interview?

 

Joey Martinez  42:10  

I'd say just take away that no matter who you are, either Latino, Lebanese, or you know, African American, Asian, no matter where you're from, just embrace it. If you want to, you know.. I can't tell you what to do, but for me, from my story, that's my advice to you, embrace you know, who you are, where you come from, because all culture is beautiful. I mean, it's just a great thing. You know, I love to see it. I've been recently getting into like Bollywood. I love the music, I've been listening to it, it's just really nice. I don't understand a word they're saying but I just feel like, passion through them. 

 

Maria Saliby  42:42  

Yeah!!

 

Joey Martinez  42:43  

That's all it is, it's the feeling. And I love the feeling of seeing culture through dance or food or books, movies. It's a great thing. So I would just definitely say, embrace, you know, your culture and others as well, because we can all learn from each other. 

 

Maria Saliby  42:57  

Yes, totally! Uhm we'll move on to the next. Is there anything that you want to add that maybe we didn't talk about in the interview? This is the last question by the way.

 

Joey Martinez  43:08  

Hmm, I had a really great interviewer to go through this with, so that was pretty cool. And I really like the whole idea of this, it's a really good thing. I like getting to have my story shared out. You know, I hope other people do that too. I'm glad this initiative exists. This is a very good thing.

 

Maria Saliby  43:27  

Yes, thank you. Thank you for taking the time.

 

Joey Martinez  43:32  

Thank you.