Rita Martinez ((1955-10-28)October 28, 1955 – (2020-12-10)December 10, 2020)[1] was a Chicana activist operating in Pueblo, Colorado.
Her efforts came to fruition in 2020, when Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill abolishing Columbus Day.
[2] Martinez began her life as an activist in the 1970s when she worked for the newspaper La Cucaracha where she was a reporter and photographer.
[5] From June to November 2020, she led weekly protests to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus form Mesa Junction in Pueblo, Colorado.
[7] She met her husband Jose Esteban Ortega, at La Cucaracha, the newspaper she worked for in the late 70s.