Street sweeper earning $18 a day posted original song to TikTok and went to sleep — he woke up an internet sensation

Everyone has a talent meant to be shared and put out for others. Sometimes, we don’t realize how profound this talent could be. If we just combine hope and passion, beautiful things can happen. A prominent example is a Mexican sweeper-turned-singer, Macario Martínez (@macariomartinezmusica), reported the Wall Street Journal. Donning his fluorescent green uniform, the 24-year-old would start his job early morning, sweeping, cleaning and perhaps even singing. One day, he shared a glimpse of this playing against his original song on TikTok. A few hours later, his whole life changed completely. 

Posting first on January 27, 2025, the former sweeper shared a few glimpses of himself with a song he composed playing in the background and wrote, “Hola, sabías que mi canción se puede escuchar mientras caminas? Escúchala mientras caminas. Gracias." It roughly translates to, “Hi, did you know that my song can be listened to while you walk? Listen to it while you walk. Thanks.” His original song, titled “Sueña Lindo" (Sweet dreams, sweetheart), is reportedly a romantic piece, per Mexico Daily News. There’s something about the aura and talent with which he rendered it that had everyone in a chokehold overnight.

Bagging over 4 million likes on his profile, people went crazy for his raw and unfiltered feelings flowing melodiously out of his music. @imcomicsans wrote, “I love your music. If you ever need covers for your album, I’m here.” @tigrethor77 confidently said, “We’re going to see you succeed. You’ll be invited to Tecates, I believe it, you believe it.” @mariluz3035 remarked, “You inspire us to follow our dreams.” In another video posted the next day, the singer in the making was seen in his uniform again, in his garbage truck as he was riding.

This time the text overlay read, “La vida pide mucho y yo nomás soy un barrendero que quiere que escuches su música,” which translates to, “Life demands a lot and I'm just a street sweeper who wants you to listen to his music.” This one gained over 47 million views and people have been asking for more ever since. It’s like they immediately fell in love with Martínez and the passion he had all this time. Soon, he began gaining a fandom. People saw him on the streets and recognized him, immediately asking to greet him. Giving him every feel of a celebrity artist, the young man realized there’s more to his life than his current job. Two weeks after he posted his video, he quit sweeping. “I was trying to focus on my music, but I was filled with emotions. It was too much. I don’t know how I endured it and processed it,” he said.

“It caught me off guard. I always wanted something like this to happen, but I never imagined it would be like this,” he added, per Rolling Stone. Months later, he is the new internet sensation. With over 13.6 million streams on Spotify, he also gained the attention of prominent artists. Recently, he was announced as an opener for Mexican singer Kevin Kaarl for later this year. He will also be performing at Mexico’s Vive Latino festival. “I always wanted this to happen. I would get up every day hoping that music would work out for me. I knew I had a talent and that my music connected deeply with the people I shared it with. I always knew I’d go far,” the singer remarked.

You can follow @macariomartinezmusica on TikTok for more content on his music.