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December 2, 1939 - February 4, 2025
Anita is survived by daughters Katherine Pearl Laura Martinez (Mike), Lee Anne Margaret Teal (Leta), Kimberley Rose Teal (Nelson), Lori Anne Lillian Teal-Goldammer (David) and sons James "Chip" Austin Teal (Martha), Darius Harrison Martinez, 22 grandchildren and 58 great grand children.
Anita's Celebration of Life will be on Feb 22, 2025 at 2pm. Please see the Wayves article for address and Zoom link.
Self Portrait - 2015
Anita Louise Martinez was born in a small border town in Ontario December 3, 1939, and at the ripe old age of 8 she won a tiny Brownie Camera, which opened up her love for the wonderful world of photography; by age 15 she left her hometown and began traveling. Anita traveled to various places in the world including Toronto, North Bay, Ontario, the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, New York, and Japan. Anita eventually settled in New Mexico to singlehandedly raise 6 wonderful children, and in 1983 she moved to beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada, where she chose to celebrate the second half of her journey through life by exploring the beautiful Nova Scotia and getting to know fantastic folks there and around the world.
Anita has numerous degrees from Colleges and Universities around the world including; cake decorating from Japan, a Nursing degree from the University of New Mexico. While living in Niagara Falls she taught cake decorating and earned her degree in photography and wood working and was able to enjoy attending numerous workshops conducted by New Brunswick’s own, Canadian Photographer, Freeman Patterson. Anita also attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design night classes, followed by 3 years at NSCC in Halifax where she earned her degree in Photography, Graphic Design and Digital Imaging. Anita also completed various workshops’ including; drug and alcohol counseling, suicide workshops, Co-operative housing workshops, etc.
Since moving to Halifax, Anita has served on various boards and committee’s such as; PLURA (Presbyterian, Lutheran, United, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches), Halifax Transition House Association, the National Transition House Association, Urban Core Support Network, Second Stage Housing Association, Take Back Night Committee, the International Women’s Day Planning Committee, Pandora Women’s Newspaper, and WAYVES news paper. For years Anita served as Membership coordinator on Lamplight Housing Cooperative Board and was President of PSAC Union until 1992 at the Halifax Transition House. Anita also served on the board of Women’s Employment Outreach and when “Dawn Canada” was held in Nova Scotia, she was honored to be part of the organizing team. Anita was a constant support person with the Nova Scotia’s Person’s with AIDS (PWA’s) Coalition.
Anita has worked for years documenting many local and national organizations and currently has works in the Nova Scotia Public Archives and over the years has also been published in various periodicals, magazines and books in Japan, New Mexico, New York, and Canada. She is currently working with Nova Scotia Public Archives to supply them with archival documentation of various committees and organizations.
Pride 2012
Anita is a passionate mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, freind, cake decorator, fisherperson, gardener, chef, photographer and designer, activist, people watcher, and a lifelong friend of Nova Scotia, its people, and the various diverse communities on the East Coast of Canada. Anita has been involved in numerous events, committees and organizations including the Peace Movement, Women’s rights and empowerment organizations, LGBTQI rights, and is a staunch defender of equal rights for all. Anita has been a long time activist in Nova Scotia and worldwide, and intends to keep doing so as long as she has "two feet and a heart beat"
Filmmaker Arena Alamino spent time with Anita in 2024 and is making a short documentary film about her and her photography. The film will focus on Anita’s photographic documentation of the Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues camping weekends that took place between 1983 and 1996. It is anticipated that the film will be available for screening by late Spring. You can contact Arena via email to Dan.
Anita Teal Martinez attended her first march - A Reclaim the Night - in 1984, the year I was born. She was a resident at Bryony House and the march was "probably the strongest feeling I had in my lifetime. And I had a lot of kids", she told me with a big laugh.
Her time at Bryony was also the first time Anita - who believed herself to be straight at the time - was exposed to REAL LIVE HAPPY LESBIANS.
"That's when my life began, really. At fifty," she told me of the feminist/lesbian community and activism of 1980s Halifax. "My life began at 50!"
Nearing 80, Anita was the eldest Elder I interviewed for Before the Parade. And she had been, through, it. But there was just so much passion, sauce, humour, and positivity jammed into her 4 foot 11 inch frame. At that point, she had been a staple in the feminist and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities for over 35 years.
from Anita's collection: At a Reclaim the Night March in the 80s with Diane Guilbault, Verona Singer and K Tetlock
Like most younger Queer and Trans folks, I met Anita at a rally - the first Halifax Dyke March - when she took a picture of me and Raymond Taavel at the end of the walk. Throughout the years Anita has been a stand-in Queer grandma for many of us; never missing an opportunity to tell us how FABULOUS or BEAUTIFUL we were (in ALL CAPS with lots of !!!!) on social media or in person.
Anita was so vulnerable, and honest, in her re-telling of (some of) her history to me when I interviewed her for Before the Parade. She shared some photographs from her amazing and more-than extensive collection and was generous enough to let me read an excerpt about her - not all of which was easy - at the Before the Parade book launch.
Since I found out about AnitaLouise? Martinez's death yesterday, I have been trying to think of a less cliche way of saying "she was one of a kind". But I can't, and she was. She did so much to build our community, from the 80s right up until present day, and I am so grateful. Love to her family and her chosen family, I look forward to celebrating Anita with you soon.1
The Nova Scotia queer community has lost a pioneer.
I can’t think of anyone who’s collected more documentary footage of our movement over the last 4 decades. And it was a special kind of candid photography that is very rare, especially in this era of selfies and social media. Everyone smiled when they saw Anita and her camera. She brought positivity and brightness into every space she entered. Just a few weeks ago, I was invited by a local filmmaker to appear in a documentary about Anita’s photography, and in particular her archival footage of the “Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues” camping weekends that used to happen in rural NS. The filmmaker shared some beautiful photos (including of myself) that I’m not sure I’d ever seen before, and it moved me deeply. It made me want to reconnect with her, but I was told she wasn’t well. I had still planned to send a note along thanking her for donating her work to an archive, but I didn’t act quickly enough. Perhaps her daughter will read this and know how much we all appreciated Anita, as a person, and for her contribution to our community. Wherever her soul rests, I hope she’s eating all the pozole she can, and has her bright red lipstick stashed in her dress pocket.2
I think I was first introduced to Anita in 1987 at the AIDS Vigil. She was already an important resource for the community as a whole. Sensitive to the needs of her community (some people were afraid of having their photos taken at the time), professional, vivacious and capable of putting her subjects at ease. Oh yeah, and she took a LOT of kickass photos our community would be at a profound loss without. She will be remembered fondly and sorely missed.
Here is a list of all of the pages in the H•R•E which mention Anita.