Tomás

Tomás Martinez was born in Rosario, Argentina, and lives in San Francisco. He lived in Buenos Aires and in New York before that, and he carries Argentina and the United States at the same time without choosing. When people ask where he is from, he answers that it depends on the language they ask in. He holds a doctorate in linguistics and works as a bilingual education specialist, consultant and author.

Tomás learned guitar from his grandfather, a well-known folk musician, and he still plays chacareras when he is alone. He invented a barbecue pulled-pork empanada and defends it, and he celebrates Thanksgiving with empanadas. He hikes, and Patagonia is his place in the world. His grandfather taught him "Blowin' in the Wind" in a clumsy Spanish translation, and he likes it better that way.

An exchange year in the United States shaped how Tomás understands bilingual teaching. He began teaching from home while his daughter was little. He was surprised to learn that a student's silence is work, not emptiness, so now he waits, and the sentence almost always arrives. To someone afraid to speak he says, "Tell me something boring," because nobody stumbles over something they don't care about.