SAN ANTONIO – A local family that lost their son over two years ago is carrying on his legacy by bringing joy to other children through a donation-based festival.
Santiago Martinez was 8 years old when he was killed in a drag race crash in Kerrville in 2021.
His mother, Karla Martinez, says she still feels his absence.
She told KSAT her son was just a boy filled with curiosity and a big heart, sharing how he often asked about what her life was like in Mexico living in poverty.
“He was a very religious kid, so he always prayed for kids to have food and toys,” she remembers. “All his prayers were like ‘God please give all the kids toys and food’.”
Karla said the family created a tradition before his death to collect toys for children in an orphanage in Coahuila, Mexico. She says he loved to play Santa and hand out the toys.
As this week marked two years since his death and the second year the family has collected toys, they held the first Ninja United Festival this past weekend.
At the festival, families enjoyed free food and games in return for a toy donation.
“I know that he is very happy, he’s in heaven and he’s very happy because he’s helping a lot of kids,” his mother said.
The festival was named after Santiagos’ catchphrase that he used as an aspiring YouTube star.
The catchphrase went “Be awesome and be a Ninja United.”
This year the festival brought in twice as many donations as the year before. Some of the collected toys in the past have made it as far as Peru in his honor.
“Just to see the smile in the eyes of those kids, it’s something you cannot say in words,” said Karla.