AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
In Mexico, a 23-year-old street sweeper with a golden voice has captured the public imagination. In just two weeks, Macario Martinez has racked up millions of views with his rags-to-riches story and has become Mexico's latest pop star. NPR's Eyder Peralta reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS CHIRPING)
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Even before the sun rises, this is what you hear in Mexico City.
(SOUNDBITE OF BROOMS SWEEPING)
PERALTA: About 2,000 men and women sweep the streets of this megacity using handmade brooms. And even though they keep this place running, they are mostly invisible and poorly paid. They make $13 a day, but at the end of last month, something magical happened.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUENA LINDO, CORAZON)
MACARIO MARTINEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
PERALTA: One of those workers, a 23-year-old with a mop of black hair and a thin mustache, posted a video on TikTok. It was him in his florescent green uniform riding on the back of a trash truck just before sunrise. The city, beautiful and gleaming, rushes behind him, and in text, a simple plea - I'm just a street sweeper who wants the world to listen to my music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUENA LINDO, CORAZON)
MARTINEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
PERALTA: The song is also a plea. He's lovelorn, begging his ex for some clarity. The video struck a nerve. It got more than 30 million views on TikTok. How I wish to know the truth, he sings, because as soon as I met you, all I wanted was to make you happy.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUENA LINDO, CORAZON)
MARTINEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
PERALTA: Suddenly, Macario Martinez was on TV and in newspapers. When he heard his song on the radio, he wept. When a TV station had him on with his mom, he cried on her shoulder. Suddenly, a street sweeper had become a folk hero.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUENA LINDO, CORAZON)
MARTINEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
PERALTA: I meet Macario Martinez in the middle of Mexico City on one of the same streets he used to clean. Except today, he's about to play a big outdoor concert.
MARTINEZ: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: His whole experience, he says, is a battle cry for hope.
MARTINEZ: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: "Because we all dream about something," he says.
His dream was for people to listen to his music. When he was on that trash truck, he was thinking about the beauty of the city, about the stories of the people in those buildings, and he was dreaming.
MARTINEZ: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: "I used to watch a lot of old videos from my favorite bands in the 2000s," he says, "and they toured. They got to leave their cities. Some even left their countries. And right now," he says, "I'm closer than ever to reaching my dreams."
As we talk, his old cleaning crew shows up in their bright green uniforms, and the crowd begins to build. Alejandro Castillo was front and center.
ALEJANDRO CASTILLO: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: "We Mexicans love soap operas. And the truth is," he says, "we're all Macario."
CASTILLO: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: "We are all that character who wants to excel and take on the whole world with a single bite."
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
PERALTA: And with that, Macario takes the stage, the city towering behind him, the world ready to listen to his music.
MARTINEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
PERALTA: Eyder Peralta, NPR News, Mexico City.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MARTINEZ: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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