Donato MartinezDonato Martinez was born in in small pueblo, Garcia de la Cadena, Zacatecas, Mexico and immigrated into the USA at six years old. He teaches English Composition, Literature, and Creative Writing at Santa Ana College. He has also taught classes in Chiano Studies. He has been a co-coordinator of the Puente Program for 25 years. He hosts and curates many artistic events that feature poetry and music at his campus or in the community. He is also a poet and writes about his barrio experience, his community, his Chicano culture, bilingual identities, and other complexities of life. He is influenced by the sounds and pulse of the streets, people, music, and the magic of language. He has a self-published collection with three other Inland Empire poets, Tacos de Lengua. His work has been published by City Works, East Side Rose, The Acentos Review, San Diego Poetry Annual, Ofrenda Magazine, The Mixtape Literary Journal, Latin@ Literatures, and La Raiz Magazine. He loves the outdoors and is inspired by books, music, and his children, Gabriel and Abigail. His debut poetry collection Touch the Sky was released by El Martillo Press in 2023. Read More Read Less