I am Ricardo Martínez, an independent journalist, photographer, and video producer specialized in Latin America. And though I studied Geology at the University of Texas, la vida te da sorpresas.
I was born in Mexico and grew up in Mexico City, lived over a decade in the United States and nearly three years in Brazil. I have also lived and worked in Peru, Chile and Argentina. I am fully fluent in English, Portuguese (not portunhol), and Spanish.
I've reported on the ground in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia since 2015. I've travelled extensively in the region to cover stories that range from natural resource conflict, social inequality, and economy to politics, organized crime, and Latin American culture. My stories and videos have been published by VICE News, BBC, Public Radio International, AJ+, Americas Quarterly, Voice of America, OZY, as well as other international outlets.
I am a Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting grant recipient, an award that led to two in-depth investigative stories and a short about hundreds of thousands suffering from a water crisis from heavy metal pollution in an entire basin at Peru's Pasco province, where I was stationed for two weeks at over 4,300 meters above sea level.
I am currently based between Mexico and Brazil. But I like to rollercoast searching for untold stories. Feel free to reach out.