Macario Martínez: Latin music’s feel-good story of the year

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Mexican singer-songwriter Macario Martínez has come a long way since the beginning of 2025. He recently performed at an Interscope Records party in Los Angeles, sharing the stage with other up-and-coming Mexican artists signed to the label – a significant step from where he started the year.

A 24-year-old singer-songwriter was working as a street sweeper in Mexico City while hoping to make it as a professional musician. In January, he posted a TikTok video featuring his song, “Sueña Lindo, Corazón,” and shared his story.

He explained that life is demanding, and he was just a street sweeper hoping people would listen to his music. He shared this message with a video of himself working in Mexico City.

And the people listened. A lot of people, in fact.

The video quickly went viral on TikTok, racking up over 5 million views in just a few days. Now, it has been viewed more than 49 million times.

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Martínez’s warm and slightly shaky singing voice made him seem approachable and endearing to listeners.

With so much negativity and conflict online – especially during this difficult year – people widely praised “Sueña Lindo, Corazón” for its genuine and heartfelt message.

The singer recently told The Times they’re pleased with how things are progressing, both personally and professionally. While acknowledging a recent surge in visibility, they’re now focused on building a lasting career in the music industry.

Like most seemingly instant successes, Martínez had been working hard in Mexico City’s vibrant music scene for years before finally getting his big break.

Martínez grew up in Mexico City and developed a love for music thanks to his mother. She gave him his first guitar when he was eight and helped him access free arts programs during his teenage years.

When he was fifteen, he paused his musical pursuits to explore other creative outlets, such as photography and making short videos. This allowed him to meet new people and connect with artists in different fields.

Martínez started going to concerts, sometimes sneaking in, to take photos and interview musicians. When artists liked the photos and shared them on their own social media, it led to friendships with many independent bands. These connections then sparked Martínez’s initial songwriting inspiration.

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Shortly after turning eighteen, Martínez fully dedicated himself to music. He even admits he didn’t have a very broad musical background before then.

Listening to the soundtrack of the 2013 film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was a real turning point for the young artist. The movie, which follows a man who escapes his dull job through vivid daydreams, introduced Martínez to a lot of influential artists he hadn’t discovered on his own.

He explained that he’d never listened to David Bowie, Arcade Fire, or José González before. Discovering their music introduced him to a whole range of new sounds.

Late in 2024, after going through a difficult emotional time, Martínez collaborated with a friend who had better recording equipment. Together, they recorded the singles “Nuestra Casa en el Mar” and the hit song “Sueña Lindo, Corazón.”

He released two songs in January, and his dedicated fans loved them. He shared that he had about 3,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and typically received around 200 likes on his social media posts.

He confessed he was already pleased with the current situation. Even though he wasn’t earning any money from his performances, the fact that people were attending his small shows meant something was going right.

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He created his popular TikTok video because the local community really embraced his early songs.

Martínez explained that the video was created at the end of January, representing everything he’d learned about filmmaking – from capturing visually appealing shots to incorporating music. He wasn’t very familiar with TikTok at the time, but he was happy with how the video turned out.

He showed the video to some friends first, wanting to gauge their reaction before sharing it publicly as a way to promote his music. He was mainly worried that people within the local music community, whom he hoped to collaborate with, would make fun of the video’s earnestness. (He later understood they were simply overly critical.)

He admitted he was hesitant at first, but ultimately believes embracing his true self and ignoring others’ opinions was the right choice.

That choice opened doors to many TV and radio interviews. Martínez toured with popular Mexican indie-folk artist Kevin Kaarl in 2025 and then teamed up with the group Eslabon Armado, known for their song “Ella Baila Sola,” to create the track “Esa Noche.”

He used this opportunity to tour the U.S. this fall, with shows in Los Angeles at both the Hollywood Bowl in September and the Roxy Theatre in October.

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The day of his Roxy performance, NPR released a video of his Tiny Desk Concert as part of their Hispanic Heritage month celebration. The recording captured the singer performing in a small, personal setting, much like the venues he often played in Mexico City.

He described playing for NPR as a wonderful challenge. He said the experience of performing for such a large audience was both scary and thrilling, and he could feel the legacy of all the musicians who had performed there previously.

The singer captivated audiences with his gentle but powerful stage presence, both during his Tiny Desk performance and at the Roxy. He mostly let his music speak for itself, offering only a few words of thanks to the crowd.

Just two weeks after releasing the single ‘El Tiny,’ the artist dropped his debut album, ‘Si Mañana Ya No Estoy.’ The 11-song album features tracks he’d been working on since 2019, along with some newer songs written right before recording.

The songs feel like a story of someone in their twenties figuring out life, love, and heartbreak, all told with a unique sound influenced by Martínez’s own experiences.

He explained that the album features many traditional sounds from Mexico. Specifically, he incorporated ‘son huasteco,’ a style originating from the Huasteca region – which includes states like Veracruz and San Luis Potosí – and used instruments such as the jarana jarochas, quijadas, and cajones de zapateado.

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Martínez blends traditional music with genres like dream pop, folk, ambient, and pop. He’s particularly inspired by artists such as Damien Rice, Beach House, and Sufjan Stevens, even though they aren’t from Mexico.

He explained that their music is simply a combination of genres they enjoy. They weren’t aiming to invent something completely new, but rather to combine classic and modern sounds.

Watching the singer confidently perform his unique blend of music, it was obvious he was destined for a lasting career, not just a fleeting internet sensation.

Even though Martínez is incredibly thankful for everything that’s occurred over the last year, he still misses the uncomplicated life he used to have.

He admitted he sometimes longed for simpler times – the feeling of having nothing, but then added that the art they created together meant everything. He cherished those intimate moments – putting on a show for a small audience of around 20 people who connected with the music itself, without knowing anything about the artists personally.

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2025-12-17 22:32