Luisa Martinez has been in the building biz for a lifetime. Growing up in Chihuahua, Mexico, she was privy to a very early building education. Her father, Rodolfo Martinez, began his company thirty-five years ago in Mexico and named it Roma, after himself. “Growing up on sites I loved to see the trucks bring in the concrete. It has always been with me, I guess,” says Luisa with a shy smile. “Going into my father’s business was something that just happened.”
After attending colleges in Colorado, Luisa traded her degree in construction management for an early marriage. “Oh my, I got married really, really young,” she laughs. “I was only 20!” In 1992 she moved to El Paso and got involved with her father’s business from afar, but soon decided to build her own branch of Roma Homes in El Paso. “Around 1996 or ‘97 we began this branch,” Luisa explains, “But I was having kids. I had my daughter and then had my twin boys about a year and a half afterwards. Let’s say I was a bit preoccupied.” Officially, Luisa came on full-time in 2000 and since then, “Every day’s a challenge, but I don’t mind it.”
Roma Homes’ versatility as a company is Luisa’s biggest challenge. “I really want to cover all of the markets. Entry level homes, custom homes, condominiums, patio homes...we love to work on them all. Potential customers see the Roma logo and think we only do entry levels or Parade homes. That’s the biggest challenge, to not be stereotyped into one kind of house.” Within the next few months, Roma will have completed nineteen new condominiums, and continues to build custom homes in their Los Cerritos and Desert Breeze subdivisions.
“I love to build everything from the ground up, and to get involved in the design. I’m not only a business woman - I’m a working, single mom who sees a lot of things that men perhaps don’t see when designing homes. When you spend a lot of time in the space, you want it to be as functional as possible. While in the kitchen I may be cooking and doing dishes, or feeding my kids all at the same time, and sometimes designers don’t take that into account.”
Special touches, such as using natural materials in every home and raising the height of entry level home ceilings helps ensure the quality of the experience of living in the home, “No matter what the price of the home is, I use the same subcontractors to build it. The buyer always gets quality.”
Roma Homes’ 2005 El Paso Parade of Homes entry was a triumph. “I would love to continue to design homes such as the 2005 Parade home, but it won’t sell here,” says Luisa, with a little shrug. Working with a Mexican architect, they built the home with a focus on using a combination of as many natural elements as possible. Canterra stone, river rock, wood, and water were all enmeshed to produce the resulting fabulous showcase. “We tried to combine all the elements, and I do believe you can see that in the home. I wanted to show people how building a home using natural materials could be earth-friendly and wonderful.”
Luisa hopes the future holds more custom homes for her business. “I love the creative part, getting to express myself, and getting to know people in a good way.” And as for being a woman in the industry, Luisa didn’t skirt around the issue when asked. “It’s a boy’s world out there,” she laughs. “What else can I say? I think homeowners are more comfortable working with men because of the (physical) nature of the business. The impression that you need to be ‘strong’ applies to carrying equipment in the field, or walking on a site. I think people tend to relate that to men, as a part of a man’s list of abilities.”
Luisa’s list of abilities goes far beyond dragging around two by fours or wheelbarrows. “Dividing my time into moments of doing things that I love, such as work, is important. But I also love being a mother who wants to be there for my kids. It’s all very demanding.”
Still, with all of her daily demands, when asked for a piece of advice for women entering the building industry, Luisa had this to say: “Always be impeccable with your job.”
It is remarkable that after a day of juggling jobs, Luisa Martinez still finds it within herself to say that high standards must be met and kept. She and her homes are the successful proof that she means what she says.
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