Singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, and politician Aurelio Martínez Suazo was born on September 26, 1969, in Plaplaya, Honduras. He followed the footsteps of the legendary parranderos from the Caribbean coast of Central America, and the great Andy Palacio, with an enchanting mix of African and Latin acoustic roots music. Notably, Aurelio Martinez emerged as one of the most exceptional Garifuna artists of his generation.
Aurelio Martinez was born into a family possessing a long and distinguished musical tradition in the small Garifuna community of Plaplaya in Honduras. He began playing guitar as soon as he was old enough to hold the instrument.
Aurelio developed his musical foundation through his mother, a songwriter, and his father, a local troubadour. As a child, he crafted makeshift guitars from cans and fishing line. At the age of six, he began learning sacred drumming from his relatives and participated in religious ceremonies traditionally reserved for adults. Growing up in a community without electricity and with limited contact with the outside world, music served as the primary form of entertainment. These early experiences shaped his artistic development. By the age of 14, he had already established himself as a respected musician with a deep understanding of Garifuna rhythms, rituals, and songs.
Aurelio’s career expanded internationally with the support of Belizean musician Andy Palacio, who invited him to perform at a major Garifuna festival. Their shared commitment to preserving and promoting Garifuna music fostered a lasting friendship. Aurelio contributed vocals to Palacio’s album Wátina, a landmark recording that brought global recognition to Garifuna music.
Acclaimed for both his preservation and modernization of the parranda musical tradition, in 2008 he was selected by the great African musician, Youssou N’Dour to join the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.
By the age of six, he was regularly playing drums at social gatherings. Inspired by his grandmother and his father, he gathered a vast repertoire, which later enabled him to develop his own style.
He was an original member of the Garifuna All Star Band and worked and recorded with the legendary Andy Palacio. Along with Palacio, Rolando Sosa, Lugua Centeno, Chela Torres, Justo Miranda and others he recorded the Garifuna Soul album produced by Ivan Duran, a worldwide hit.
Aurelio Martínez served as the first Afro-Honduran member of the National Congress of Honduras from 2006 to 2010.
In 2011, Aurelio released Laru Beya (by the beach), a reference to the fact that all Garifuna communities lie on the coast. Youssou N’Dour, as part of the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, contributed his unique vocal abilities to two songs on Laru Beya, “Wamada” and “Lubara Wanwa”. While in Dakar Aurelio was also joined in the studio by Orchestra Baobab (who learnt a verse of Garifuna lyrics phonetically, a first for non-Garifuna musicians, on the song “Bisienu”) and by members of Youssou’s legendary band, the Super Etoile de Dakar.
At the heart of every song on Laru Beya beats a traditional Garifuna rhythm, and not just the most widely known popularized rhythms of punta (“Ereba”) or parranda (“Ineweyu”) that are most familiar to fans of Central American music. Exploring other traditional beats, Aurelio used the rarely recorded rhythms such as the semi-sacred hüngü-hüngü or the African-inflected gunchéi rhythm, usually connected with women’s singing. To deepen the sad tale of migration to the US, “Tio Sam,” Martinez concluded the song with part of a traditional female song set to the gunchéi beat, sung by a chorus of Garifuna women.
Aurelio shared: “This album is about far more than just keeping tradition alive; it’s about urging people to action when they listen. This album will show people in Central America and around the world that Garifuna music is alive and well, and that artists are moving it forward,” Aurelio affirms. “I know I must continue the culture of my grandparents, of my ancestors, and find new ways to express it. Few people know about it, but I adore it, and it’s something I must share with the world.”
In 2017, Aurelio released Darandi, a selection of his favorite songs from his career, newly recorded. The CD was packaged as a 24-page hardback book with extended liner notes, archive photographs and illustrations. It was recorded while Aurelio was in England to perform at WOMAD, Peter Gabriel’s acclaimed world music festival. After the event, Aurelio and his band went to Real World Studios and laid down the record, completely live. He packed the whole band and their gear into a single room. “We got into a zone where we felt like we were in our own community, playing Garifuna music for our people. It was a special feeling,” he said.
Aurelio added: “It’s important to conserve our culture because, in the end, there are things we have that the world needs. No matter how small a culture is, it has lessons to teach. The Garifuna don’t pollute. We don’t cut down a healthy tree, we wait for it to become dry before we cut it down. We conserve our nature. Our cultures of the drum, of the song, of mutual respect between neighbors and communal living, the world needs them.”
In 2021, several songs by Aurelio Martínez were included in a documentary about an excavation by the German Archaeological Institute on the Honduran coast, which accompanied an exhibition at the Rietberg Museum.
Aurelio Martínez died in Honduras in a plane crash on March 17, 2025.
Discography:
Garifuna Soul (Stonetree Records, 2006)
Laru Beya (Sub Pop/Next Ambiance NXA 002, 2011)
Lándini (Real World Records, 2014)
Darandi (Real World Records, 2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.