"Martinez, the drumbeat of the Mission, dies at 68" a Ray Balberan Mission Mediarts Archives film

Mission Local
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Miguel Martinez, the drumbeat of the Mission, dies at 68
by GRIFFIN JONESAPRIL 11, 2023
For Martinez, a giant in the Mission community, family and Danza Azteca were everything. On March 30, he passed away at home in El Sobrante with his lifelong love, Irma Martinez Alvarado, at his side. His sudden passing followed a struggle with cancer that returned aggressively in November after several years of remission. He was 68.
Martinez and Alvarado both grew up in the Mission with families that immigrated from El Salvador in the 1960s. The couple founded Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca group in 1993 after immersing themselves in the practice in the ‘80s. Together, they had four children: Miguel Jr., 46, Mauricio, 43, Moises, 34, and Melissa, 29.