Aurelio Martínez, ambassador of Garifuna music, has died

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.