Journalist Garcia, 74 An advocate for Latino causes
Former Newser Nelson dies at 55
Marta Garcia, an activist and journalist who for years advocated for Latino causes from her perch at El Diario-La Prensa and on boards and commissions throughout the city, has died. She was 74.
She died from cancer on June 1, according to her family and friends.
Whether she was championing diversity in the pages of El DiarioLa Prensa or fighting for inclusion at the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Institute for Latino Policy, Garcia earned the description that would follow her most of her career — tireless.
“She was a spitfire of a lady,” recalled her friend Miguel Trelles. “She fought ardently for a bigger presence in the news and behind the news.”
Trelles, 51, said he became close with Garcia through her other passion, the theater. Garcia was an executive at the Lower East Side’s Teatro LATEA, which was co-founded by her late husband, Nelson Landrieu, an actor and director originally from Uruguay. Landrieu died last year.
They were the sweat and soul behind the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center, a Puerto RicanLatino cultural institution that housed and promoted artists and performance events, including works commissioned by Teatro LATEA, where Garcia thrived as a mentor to a new generation of activists.
Garcia was also appointed by former Mayor Mike Bloomberg to the New York City Latin Media & Entertainment Commission.
Garcia was born in 1945 in Guayama, P.R., and lived in Manhattan after her mother moved to New York.
She studied at City University, and used an exchange program to learn Spanish literature in Sevilla, Spain.
Friends described her as equal parts funny and tough.
“She was the truth, an authentic person,” Trelles said. “She didn’t follow others. She did her own thing.”
Trelles said that friends and colleagues will be gathering in the next few days for a video memorial conference.
He said that a more formal memorial will be held at LATEA when coronavirus restrictions ease.
Meredith “Merrie” Nelson, a former Daily News copy editor and freelance writer, died in her Washington Heights apartment on Sunday. She was 55.
Nelson died of complications of heart disease, relatives said.
Nelson spent most of her formative years in Cresskill, N.J., in nearby Bergen County, graduating from Cresskill High School and then earning a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia in 1987.
She lived briefly in San Francisco and worked in Connecticut for the Hartford Courant newspaper before moving to Washington Heights, which was her home for the bulk of her adult life.
An editor and talented writer — known for her intelligence, wit and acerbic humor — Nelson started at The News in 1992 as a copy editor and worked at the paper until 2002.
Most recently, she was working as a freelance copy editor, and writing a nonfiction biography commissioned by a client.
Fulfilling her fondness for travel and interaction with people of other cultures, Nelson traveled extensively throughout China and Southeast Asia during her 20s.
In recent years, she took long trips to India and Israel.
“It’s hard to believe this irrepressible fire has gone out,” said Erin Milnes, a close high school friend.
“She was Tom to my Huck, my best friend. We helped build each other. I wouldn’t be who I am without her friendship.”
Nelson is survived by her sister, Alison, and her brother, Christopher; nephews Robin, Jonas and Ethan, and nieces Darcy and Zoe.
She was predeceased by her parents, Robin and Patricia Nelson of Englewood, N.J.