Searching for Padre Martínez (currently in development) is a feature-length documentary that will follow my filmmaking journey to discover the life and times of Antonio José Martínez, an activist priest dedicated to the enlightenment ideals of representative democracy and public education in 19th century New Mexico. 

I grew up in New Mexico but never heard anything about Martínez until well into adult life. I first learned about him when I produced a four-hour series for PBS and Mexican television on the war between Mexico and the United States (The U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848).  During Martínez’s lifetime, his native New Mexico ceased to belong to Spain, became part of Mexico, and then was conquered by the United States.  Martínez never crossed the border, but the border crossed him—twice.  

My family has lived in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado for multiple generations, since long before the Mexican republic existed. Perhaps that’s why Martínez’s story fascinates me.  I believe the battles waged by Martínez in the 19th century were a precursor to issues we confront every day in modern America. He faced an uneasy balancing act between religion and politics. He knew that education was vital for sustaining democracy among an uneducated citizenry, where critical thinking, religious tolerance, and human rights had to be cultivated. And he experienced the profound challenge of testing whether different groups—cultural, ethnic, religious, political—could live peacefully together amid the backdrop of bloody insurrection.