Francisco Martinez
Substitute Music HostFrancisco Martinez joined KCBX in January 2021 as a substitute staff announcer and then became a regular afternoon announcer, occasional reporter and host of Citizen Sound, our two-hour alternative music show that airs at 11:00 p.m. Sundays. Francisco moved back to the Bay Area in January 2022 and departed as Citizen Sound’s regular host in June 2022; he’s since returned as a fill-in host for Citizen Sound, Speak Low and anything else that’s needed.
While working in the KCBX newsroom during the summer of 2021 Francisco reported “Beyond the Furrows,” the award-winning 12-part series about farmworkers in Santa Barbara County. He’s still a journalist today — for "The Ark," a newspaper in Tiburon, California.
Francisco has loved radio for as long he can remember. During his time at Cal Poly, he was a disc jockey and news anchor at student-run KCPR. He graduated from Cal Poly in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in history.
When he’s not listening to music, old and new, Francisco enjoys the company of his four cats (who also frustrate him sometimes), playing video games, reading Wikipedia and wondering why he roots for the sports teams he roots for. He sends “warm” regards to the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Vancouver Canucks, with the “warmest” regards reserved for Tottenham Hotspur.
Reach Francisco at fmartinez@kcbx.org.
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In this edition of "Beyond the Furrows", our series covering farmworkers on the Central Coast, we'll introduce you to Maria. She's been on an 18 year… -
On this week’s episode of “Beyond the Furrows”, KCBX's Francisco Martinez introduces you to a farmworker who has spent much of her life giving back- to… -
Beyond the Furrows: One farmworker's desire to see a better future in the fields and the community, and why that matters to the rest of us -
In our series “Beyond the Furrows”, KCBX’s Francisco Martinez introduces us to a local farmworker who came to the U.S. from Oaxaca Mexico; her dream is to… -
Maria will tell you without hesitation: she never thought she would be here right now.“I never thought about putting my life at risk by crossing the… -
Reina Mendoza is 50 years old, and has been in the United States for the last 21 years. She’s called Santa Maria home for the last nine years.Mendoza is a… -
It’s been a while — a month and a half, actually — since I talked to Francis Salvador in person.The last time we spoke, Salvador was on strike, asking for… -
Beyond the Furrows is a 12 part series on local farmworkers; we explore pesticide regulations, and the education efforts surrounding them. Poet and former…
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It’s a warm day in Santa Maria, as Santiago Fanvian — who’s called Santa Maria home for the last 17 years — is at a strip mall with his two sons, both of… -
Beyond the Furrows is KCBX's 12 part series on farmworkers on the Central Coast, and in this week's episode Francisco Martinez reports on the efforts to…
