Than Povi Martinez holding a pot for a photo shoot. You can also see photos of her in airports as part of the New Mexico True campaign. Courtesy photo
By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos
It really is a beautiful thing to see young adults that you’ve known since middle school grow into their true selves and accomplish their goals. One of those students is Than Povi Martinez. Martinez is hoping she can become Miss Indian New Mexico at the end of the month. The pageant takes place on May 30 and we can help her succeed in that quest.
If that name sounds familiar, it is because Than Povi Martinez will become the first Indigenous woman to overtake the role of the Fire Spirit dancer at Zozobra. The Fire Spirit in waiting is called, The Gloom Queen and she watches over the Gloomies. She held the Fire Queen role in 2026 as she prepares to carry the Fire Spirit torch in 2027.
“Miss Indian New Mexico is an opportunity to represent my Culture and History of San Ildefonso Pueblo,” Martinez said. “It is also a beautiful opportunity to connect with other lovely humans that are also making waves of change in their own communities. We are young matriarchs coming together to represent our homelands as well as taking the opportunity to expand our networks as young ‘Elders in Training.’”
Than Povi credits the spirit and beauty of her friends Gabriel and Angel with the term, “Elders in Training,” and the training for the success of Than Povi Martinez is well underway.
The Miss Indian New Mexico pageant is a non-profit with the vision of Honoring the Legacy of Our Tribal Nations. The website details the 24 tribal nations represented by the group and the two-day competition that highlights outstanding young ladies and the future leaders of our state.
The pageant has high expectations of their contestants as they navigate their way traditional and contemporary talent, traditional skills and even a written State of New Mexico test.
What is she looking forward to about the pageant? “I look forward to representing my family, my village, and my community of Northern New Mexico on this stage, and getting to connect with the other contestants, to hear their stories, make their acquaintance and hopefully friendships, and see what they will be bringing to the stage.” Martinez said.
May is a busy time working, training, studying and don’t forget the yard work. She is currently working with relatives to perfect her talents and skills as everything comes together. The very proud sister doesn’t hesitate to say how happy she is about her younger brother Graeme Martinez, getting ready to graduate.
The biography for Martinez is on the Miss Indian New Mexico website, which tells the story about her arrival in Los Alamos in the 4th grade and dancing for Dance Arts Los Alamos. Her training and studies found her graduating from the New Mexico School for Arts and then training in Illinois at Ballet Chicago. Like many of her age the world shut down during Covid and she attended school on-line. She was then accepted at Loyola Marymount University and after extensive travel, work in orphanages and a torn meniscus graduated with a BA in dance.
Martinez is now back in New Mexico and teaches dance to youth at Moving Arts Espanola and for the Nambe Pueblo. Our hope is for her to dance her way into the hearts of the judges as she competes in Albuquerque, NM at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Raffle tickets to support individual contestants like Than Povi can be purchased online through their website. Tickets are only $5 each and available at https://missindiannewmexicoinc.org/.
Sharing limited free time with her best friend in the universe, Stepha “Lucaa” Murphy. Courtesy photo
Home is where the heart is and her heart is always with Moving Arts also performed at the Lensic. Courtesy photo
A play in November 2025 with an organization called Little Globe. The performance was at the Lensic as it titled, Circles: Honoring Indigenous Santa Fe. Courtesy photo
