Aurelio Martinez is a Honduran Garifuna singer, songwriter, guitarist, percussionist and politician from Plaplaya, on the Caribbean coast in the department of Gracias a Dios. He is associated with paranda, a style that combines Garifuna rhythms with Latin sounds, and he is known for a powerful, expressive voice as well as a distinctive way of composing and playing.

Background and early years

Martinez is born into a musical Garifuna family in Plaplaya. He grows up surrounded by relatives who play and compose music, including a father who performs as a local troubadour, improvising paranda songs on guitar, and a mother who writes songs. His grandmother, father, uncles and grandfather all shape his musical development. By the age of six, he is already playing drums at social gatherings and using his father’s guitar, and by 14 he is established as a respected musician with a strong grounding in both ritual and secular rhythms.

First groups and early recordings

At the end of the 1980s, Martinez forms his first group, LITA ARIRAN. The group becomes one of the first Garifuna traditional music and dance acts to perform internationally, including in Japan. He releases his first album, LITA ARIRAN, in 1995. He later receives the award for Best Garifuna Music Singer, while the group receives Best Cultural Group of the Year at the Garifuna World Music Awards in New York.

Stonetree Records and paranda recordings

Martinez begins working with Stonetree Records in 1997. That year he contributes to the Paranda recording sessions, where he delivers three performances, including his composition “Africa” and a duet with Andy Palacio. He also becomes an original member of the Garifuna All Star Band. Through this period he develops a close artistic and personal connection with Palacio and with producer Iván Durán, founder of Stonetree Records.

Solo work and collaborations

In 2004, Martinez releases his first solo album, Garifuna Soul, on Stonetree Records. The album later places in the Top 10 album list in 2014 and brings him the Afropop Newcomer of the Year Award. In 2007, he appears on Andy Palacio & The Garifuna Collective’s Watina, also produced by Iván Durán in Belize.

That same year, Martinez is selected by Youssou N’Dour for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. The mentorship gives him the chance to work with Senegalese musicians, perform with N’Dour and realise a long-held wish to visit Africa. In 2011 he releases his second album, Laru Beya, which combines traditional Garifuna rhythms with Senegalese sounds. Parts of the album are recorded in Youssou N’Dour’s studios in Dakar, with Orchestra Baobab, N’Dour and other local artists contributing.

Later albums and recognition

Martinez’s third album, Landini, appears in 2014. The title means “landing” in Garifuna, and the album includes songs inspired by his mother, Maria Martinez. It receives strong critical recognition, including placement in Songlines’ 50 greatest world music albums of the previous five years, third place in the fRoots critics’ poll for new albums of 2014, third place in The Sunday Times Culture’s best records of 2014, and a place in the fRoots best-of-the-best albums list for 1986–2015.

Politics and cultural advocacy

Martinez also becomes a deputy in the National Congress of Honduras, becoming the first Garifuna deputy from his department to hold the role. He is recognised as an international ambassador for Garifuna culture and is described as a committed advocate for his people, focusing on preserving community identity, promoting culture and improving everyday life in the region. He tours his paranda music in France, Japan, the United States, Mexico and neighbouring Central American countries.