Aurelio Martínez, ambassador of Garifuna music, has died

Honduran musician and politician Aurelio Martínez, photographed in London in 2011.

Judith Burrows/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Honduran folk musician Aurelio Martínez has died. The 55-year-old was a respected proponent of the Central American culture known as Garifuna. According to his spokesperson, Martinez and 11 other people died Monday in an airplane crash, shortly after taking off from the Honduran island of Roatán.

Martínez grew up in a remote area of northern Honduras. He moved to the provincial capital of La Ceiba to study music, and eventually launched his performing career alongside the Belizean musician Andy Palacio. Garifuna, the musical tradition in which they worked, is a mix of West African, Indigenous and other cultures and dates back to the 17th century, along the Caribbean coast of Central America.

In 2005, Martínez took a break from music to become the first Afro-Honduran elected to the country’s national congress. However, in 2008, after Palacio’s unexpected passing at age 48, the artist decided to resume his musical career full time. His return to music included international tours, songwriting workshops for Garifuna youth and even an appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series in 2015.

Related Posts

BBC News Reports: 30 minutes ago, President Trump ordered a deep dive into California Governor Gavin Newsom’s collusion with Democrats to oppose the “Obliteration” of the White House to … more

By Elena Vasquez, Political Correspondent – Washington, D.C. – October 22, 2025 In a bombshell announcement that’s already ripping through the political ether like a California wildfire, ABC News reported…

Read more

NBC Reported: 30 minutes ago, President Trump ordered a deep dive into California Governor Gavin Newsom’s collusion with Democrats to oppose the “Obliteration” of the White House to … more

By Elena Vasquez, Political Correspondent – Washington, D.C. – October 22, 2025 In a bombshell announcement that’s already ripping through the political ether like a California wildfire, ABC News reported…

Read more

BSC Reported: 30 minutes ago, President Trump ordered a deep dive into California Governor Gavin Newsom’s collusion with Democrats to oppose the “Obliteration” of the White House to … more

By Elena Vasquez, Political Correspondent – Washington, D.C. – October 22, 2025 In a bombshell announcement that’s already ripping through the political ether like a California wildfire, ABC News reported…

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *