"This is what I pass on to young people today. That passion, that caring, that giving, that participating, that listening... I tell them, 'Did you know that almost 56% of Americans only speak one language, and you've been speaking two since you were in kindergarten?' This 21st century that we live in is a century of languages and cultures. I say, 'Be proud of your parents, be proud of your grandparents, be proud of your first language....'
"I have the opportunity to go on a national level and talk about books in Spanish, and it's happening in my 70s... I'm never going to retire. It's too late for me. I'm at the point of no return."
--Ruebén Martinez, founder of Libreria Martinez and winner of this year's Los Angeles Times Book Prize Innovator's Award for his work promoting books and reading within the Latino-American and Spanish-speaking communities
