This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.
Street sweeping by night in Mexico City and writing music when he could and where he could, Macario Martínez turned his longing into songs with beautiful lyrics and simple guitar picking. "¿Cómo es que me duele el no saber?" he sings on "Sueña Lindo, Corazón," the song that exploded on TikTok. How come the not knowing hurts so much? Martínez translates that feeling — wanting what you're not sure you can have — into music that matches the pulse of Mexico's beating heart.
Martínez arrives at the Tiny Desk on the release of his debut album, Si mañana ya no estoy. The structure of his music is soulful indie-pop, but the arrangements here evoke his home of Veracruz, Mexico, including instruments like jarana jarocha, steel drum and the percussive dance of tarima de zapateado. In these songs, he takes you to a place you love, you've lost or didn't even know you were a part of. In these songs, the longing that's defined Martínez's life will captivate the world.
SET LIST
- "Sueña Lindo, Corazón"
- "Estrellas"
- "Enhierbado"
- "Azul"
MUSICIANS
- Macario Martínez: vocals, guitar, jarana jarocha, tarima de zapateado
- Jaxho: jarana jarocha mosquito, quijada de burro, tarima de zapateado, steel drum, marimba, bombo
- Perick Conde: bass, background vocals
- Hombre Flores: piano
- Ernesto Anaya: guitar, violin, percussion
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Anamaria Sayre
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame
- Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro
- Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Dora Levite
- Photographer: Grace Raver
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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