By Deb Boelkes
Click image to play videoJose Angel “Chito” Martiarena, a Del Rio, Texas native is often seen pushing a train of children’s wagons with flashy balloons and road cones attached to a lawnmower down Del Rio’s Veteran’s Boulevard.
Chito’s specialty is mowing lawns, including the grassy medians of Veteran’s Boulevard. He can be seen out there day, night, hot, cold – it doesn’t seem to matter – and he doesn’t take a cent.
Everyone wonders why Chito mows endlessly for free, especially because his disabilities prevent him from speaking. In fact, his physical disabilities give him every excuse to not work at all, but he’s not that kind of man. Chito just sees things a little differently than us narrow-minded, semi-successful citizens.
Chito is dedicated to his family and continues to mourn his beloved father’s death. He feels a responsibility to care and provide for his mother, yet he mows lawns for free – although he apparently has a few paying customers.
Chito’s community is his life. Del Rio is his life. Born and raised there, Chito does everything in his power to beautify Del Rio. While a one-man landscaping crew can only play a small part in maintaining the roadsides in a community as large as Del Rio, Chito continues to work longer and later than the highway department does. Chito pulls the weeds, trims the grass, and collects trash up and down the streets of Del Rio – simply because it needs to be done.
Chito inspires us to give our time, effort, talents, and passions to our community, simply because it’s our home. He inspires us to embody and encourage hard work and sense of duty over laziness and irresponsibility. “Entitlement” doesn’t exist in Chito’s vocabulary, even though he has that right more than most of us. Chito exemplifies how priorities should be arranged in life – family, community…and lastly – himself. He is the epitome of a dedicated, hard worker – not because it results in personal gain, but because it’s just the right thing to do. It’s not about glory, wealth, or even long-lasting health for Chito – it’s about using the gifts God gave him at their max potential solely for the purpose of making a difference in Del Rio.
Chito Martiarena is a wonderful example of what legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden meant when he said:
“Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. ”
(Excerpts from https://www.stwxstrategic.com/weather-blog/del-rio-texas-chito-martiarena-what-we-can-all-learn-from-the-hardest-working-man)