Eppie Martinez grew up in a farming family in Chimayo, NM. She went to boarding school in Santa Fe and then for two years to Menaul School in Albuquerque before coming back home to her family. Long before there were farmer's markets in New Mexico she was selling produce door-to-door with her mother-in-law. She kept selling through the births of nine children and has been selling at actual farmers' markets for thirty years now.
About 28 years ago Jesus Guzman came into Eppie's life and first Jesus, then Eppie started their own gardens. Jesus does nearly all the farm labor himself and only very occasionally do they bring in outside help. They raise chili, corn, all kinds of squash, cucumbers, peas, several kinds of beans, onions, dill and cilantro and a few other goodies, and Eppie keeps very busy preparing all that bounty for the market. They make chicos from their corn, baking it in an outdoor horno to give it a good, smoky flavor. Though they have not gone through the official certification process, Eppie and Jesus raise everything using all-natural, organic methods.
All that farming and all those kids can take a lot out of a person, and Eppie says she is slowing down. (Incidentally, her doctor has her on oxygen and she's supposed to wear it all the time, so if you see her without her oxygen tube, tell her to put it on!) Eppie is not sure how much longer she can continue to get to the markets, but she plans to keep it up as long as possible. It's a good thing she has help at the markets, she says! Her son Ernesto's wife Shirley and their daughter Regina are always there at Los Alamos to help her out.
Eppie loves coming to the Los Alamos market not just to sell, but to socialize. She gets along well with nearly everybody and says the customers are really nice and friendly. Eppie also has good words for market manager Cindy Talamantes. Asked why she is still farming and coming to markets when she is slowing down, Eppie says the sales help her put a little extra money by for the winter, and besides, it's important to keep doing something active even if it's a little hard. "Never give up", she believes.
Eppie thanks all her customers and wants them all to know "I'm beautiful, and happy-go-lucky". Yes, Eppie, you are.