A Mexico City street sweeper whose sweet, simple music turned him into a viral sensation eight months ago reached another plateau last week with an appearance on NPR’s celebrated “Tiny Desk Concert” series.
Macario Martínez was an aspiring 23-year-old musician when his music video — recorded in his work uniform after his shift with Mexico City’s sanitation department — went viral in February.
Mexico City sanitation worker blows up on TikTok with viral song
Less than 24 hours later, the yearning lyrics and simple guitar of “Sueña Lindo, Corazón” (“Sweet dreams, sweetheart”) had captivated thousands on social media.
“Life demands a lot, and I’m just a street sweeper who wants you to hear his music,” he posted, drawing empathy nationwide.
Flash forward to last Friday, when Martínez followed in the footsteps of an eye-popping list of major stars who had made “Tiny Desk” appearances over the past 17 years — including Sting, Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys, Ed Sheeran, Jackson Browne, Adele, John Legend, Bad Bunny, Dave Matthews and Justin Bieber.
The list also includes many Mexican standouts, such as Carín León and Grupo Frontera in a pair of recent appearances highlighting regional Mexican music, as well as the soul-stirring Natalie Lafourcade in 2017 (the 13th most-watched of all-time) and the poetic Silvana Estrada in 2021.
Like his predecessors, Martínez played in NPR’s famous cramped space, behind a work desk surrounded by shelves cluttered with books, memorabilia and office supplies — an unlikely venue that’s nevertheless coveted by top-of-the-line musicians.
He appeared during Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. During that timespan, NPR Music has “rebranded” the series “El Tiny” and has been celebrating with appearances by Cuban-American superstar Gloria Estefan, Colombian pop star Carlos Vives, Argentine rock icon Fito Páez and others.
Martínez played with four musicians and a distinctive array of traditional instruments — including the “mosquito” jarana jarocha (the smallest version of a guitar-shaped instrument from Veracruz) and a quijada de burro (a “jawbone of a donkey” that makes a distinctive rattling sound when struck).
He debuted songs from his upcoming album, “Si mañana ya no estoy” (“If I’m Not Here Tomorrow”), due for release later this month, with a set list of “Sueña Lindo, Corazón,” “Estrellas,” “Enhierbado” and “Azul.”
“Sueña Lindo, Corazón” was Martínez’s original viral hit, which has largely been scrubbed from online. In the months since then, an “official” video of the song — which includes lyrics that translate to “How come the not-knowing hurts so much?” — has been released.
It was recorded in Veracruz, his home state before he moved to the north side of Mexico City and became a street sweeper, a job he has since left to focus on music full time.
Going into the final song of his set, Martínez spoke about himself and his bandmates.
“We all come from pretty remote places in Mexico,” he said in Spanish. “Each of us, we’ve been through a lot in our lives. And today, life’s path brought us here. This song is called ‘Azul’, and long live Mexico.”
Martinez’s 14-minute “Tiny Desk Concert” can be viewed on YouTube with English subtitles. As of Monday morning, it was closing in on 500,000 views.
