During the "
"balsero crisis" of 1994, over 30,000 Cubans immigrated to the United States from Cuba on rafts.[3] Seen as a symbol of the balsero exodus, Martínez first became known on August 21, 1994, as a 12-year-old rafter from Cuba.[4][5] This was when the
U.S. Coast Guard picked her and her family out of her raft.[6] The Coast Guard wanted to take her violin because they thought the case might contain a weapon. She then opened the case and started to play "
The Star-Spangled Banner" on her violin.[7] She spent five months at the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base before being relocated to
Miami.[8][9]
She later became a teacher at Emerson Elementary, before teaching at M.A. Milam K-8 Center.[2][15] She taught music, until budget cuts took away Milam's music program, leading her to teach English. Martínez has two children.[3] Martínez was also featured in the film Voices from Cuba.[16] After 20 years passed since Martínez emigrated from Cuba, a follow-up article was published about the situation.[3]