Lizbet Martinez

Who is Lizbet Martinez?

Lizbet Martinez is a Cuban violinist and English teacher at M.A. Milam K-8 Center.

Martinez first became known on August 21, 1994 as a 12-year old rafter from Cuba. This was when the U.S. Coast Guard picked her and her family out of her raft. 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. She spent five months at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base before being relocated to Miami.

At her graduation at Florida International University she played the anthem in front of her fellow graduates to kick off the university's commencement ceremony. Martinez later played on her violin in front of United States Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Martinez also performed alongside Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada. She later became a teacher at Emerson Elementary, before teaching at M.A. Milam K-8 Center. Martinez is now married and has a child. Martinez was also featured in the film Voices from Cuba.