Lizbet Martínez

Lizbet Martínez[1] is a Cuban violinist and English teacher at M.A. Milam K-8 Center.[2]

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]

Martínez attended Florida International University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in music education.[10] 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.[11] Martínez later played on her violin in front of United States Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.[8][12][13] Martínez also performed alongside Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada.[14]

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 is also married and 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]