In Martínez’s 1999 McNay Art Museum catalogue, César A. Martínez : A Retrospective, art historian and scholar, Jacinto Quirarte interviewed Martínez. The artist recounts his early years in the art world, when he went to California to meet with other artists, including Salvador Torres, also known as “El Queso,” who began to influence the early work of the pachuco series. Martínez mentions Torres’ profound influence on his work, “He had some sketchbooks, and I went through them. And I saw some of the most stunning images of Chicanos I had ever seen and said, ‘I want to do stuff like that,’ it moved me.” These sketches drew Martínez toward the qualities of the Chicano community, specifically during a time when only white individuals or groups were featured in portraiture.