Aurelio Martínez, the lengthy -standing ambassador of Garifuna Music and former member of the Hondran congress, died. He was 55 years outdated.
Martínez’s official Facebook page He confirmed his demise and cried the lack of the musician.
“With a deep ache, we affirm the disappearance of Aurelio Martínez, legendary musician, composer and Garifuna activist, who tragically misplaced his life on March 17, 2025, in a airplane crash off the coast of Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras,” stated the place.
The small industrial airplane crashed into the ocean instantly after taking off on Monday on the course of town of La Ceiba Hondran, in line with the Associated Press. Martínez was one of many 17 passengers on the airplane and among the many at the very least 12 individuals on the airplane who died within the accident. The accident is at present underneath investigation by Hondran officers.
“Aurelio Martínez was greater than an artist – he was a heritage Garifuna guardian, a bridge between generations and an emblem of cultural resilience,” continued the official submit of the Facebook web page. “His unmistakable voice and the mastery of the guitar introduced Garifuna music in probably the most prestigious phases on the planet, together with its historian Music Music Tiny Desk PerformanceWhere the primary Hondundi grew to become to participate within the famend sequence. ”
The singer -songwriter was a distinguished member of the Garifuna ethnic group, a inhabitants of individuals with indigenous and African ancestors present in Central America and elements of the Caribbean.
Martínez made a profession change in 2005 when he grew to become the primary Afro-Dukes elected to the Honduras National Congress. One of its foremost aims whereas it was in cost was to guard and spotlight the Garifuna neighborhood. Served from 2006 to 2010.
He returned to music after the disappearance of the Belize Garifuna musician Andy Palacio, with whom Martínez had exhibited throughout his profession.
Martínez was born within the Gracias a Dios Departen of Honduras in 1969 and was drawn to music beginning as a younger man.
“When I used to be a baby, I had very pure toys. My first toy was a guitar that I constructed for myself from wooden taken from a fishing rod. So that is how I performed my first agreements,” he stated Afropop all over the world In 2006. “
He left his hometown on the age of 14 and carried out in a number of musical teams earlier than forming the Lita Ariran group. The band launched his first album, “Songs of the Garifuna”, in 1995. He would proceed to launch many different albums and was introduced within the 2007 Palacio album “Wátina”. His newest solo album, “Darandi”, was revealed in 2017.
Stonetree Records, a musical label with which Martínez had beforehand labored, shared a declaration Tuesday night on Facebook on the demise of the musician.
“We are damaged by the tragic passage of Aurelio, certainly one of our dearest pals and musical collaborators for greater than 25 years,” wrote the label. “With fierce satisfaction, dignity and fervour provided solely to probably the most particular artists, through the years Aurelio has been a lighthouse of hope for Garifuna tradition all around the world. The Garifuna nation has misplaced an irreplaceable cultural champion, however his instance will reside without end within the numerous hearts that has touched his music and his humanity.”
