Ortiz, Martha
This interview was recorded on January 25th, 2022 at Martha Ortiz’ house in Tucson, Arizona. At a few points during the interview, Martha’s son, Quentin Ortiz, joins the conversation. The interview covers the following themes:
b. 1924
Early life in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. College at the University of Illinois. Meeting future husband Augusto Ortiz.
Husband’s draft into the military during the Korean War and relocation to Phoenix, Arizona in 1953. Expectations and first impressions of the desert.
Husband’s medical practice in Phoenix, the rarity of Spanish-speaking doctors, and work with farmworkers.
Closing independent practice and relocation to Tucson to work at University of Arizona Medical School.
Augusto Ortiz’s experience treating farmworkers with back problems resulting from the short handled hoe.
Cesar Chavez’s hunger strike. Acquaintance with Chavez.
Traveling with Augusto when he worked for the UA’s Rural Health Office.
Augusto’s work to bring musician and composer Pablo Casals to play a concert in Phoenix in 1972.