Former Casa 0101 Board member Martín Olvera passed away on February 14th.
Martín was an artist in the truest sense of the word.
He had been attending Casa 0101 plays for well over a decade.
One day after a performance he and I finally had a discussion and he shared he was soon retiring.
I asked him if he might consider joining the Casa 0101 Board of Directors. He jumped at the
opportunity with both feet as he did with all of his endeavors.
Martín always gave 100% of himself to everything he got involved in, whether it was helping us manage
the box office or raising funds for the organization. He also participated in our 2019 production of Brown and Out V, writing a piece for the festival.

Martín was a kind hearted man, a mariachi and an educator.
When his father became too old to take care of himself, he moved in with him during his final years to avoid the anonymity of a retirement home.
He would bring his father to Casa 0101 and to many cultural events to keep him engaged and active.

He was a teacher for 32 years at LAUSD, mentoring thousands of youth instilling a love for music and the arts.
His devotion to uplifting culture was absolute, especially marginalized cultures.
He had a joie de vivre that was infectious. We engaged in many lively conversations over the years about everything from our fathers, to raising the human spirit
and the bonds between people through arts and culture.

We will miss him, the Casa 0101 community has lost a wonderful spirit in Martín.
May he be singing and playing violin with the angels.

Emmanuel Deleage

Executive Director