—David Menconi, Down on Copperline
Hillsborough’s Mango Martinez is an artist who does a little of everything. He creates visual art, plays and markets and sells music, organizes things. But right now, music is taking center stage for Martinez thanks to a pair of nominations in the Latin Grammy Awards.
Among his many pursuits, the 37-year-old Martinez plays drums in Viniloversus, a rock band from his native Venezuela. Viniloversus has had some success at the Latin Grammys in the past, with multiple nominations. One of the group’s albums, 2012’s “Cambie De Nombre,” won for Best Recording Package.
This year represents a new peak, as Viniloversus is up for not just one Latin Grammy but two in its first nominations since that 2012 win. Viniloversus’ 2024 LP “Mi Mejor Enemigo” (“My Best Enemy”) is up for Best Rock Album; and a track from the LP, “Animal Temporal,” is up for Best Rock Song.
The Latin Grammys will be presented November 14 in Miami, with all five members of Viniloversus in attendance. It will be possible to tune in and watch the awards at LatinGrammy.com.
“This is our first time with a double nomination, and we’re the only rock and roll band with two nominations this year,” says Martinez. “It’s very special for us. This year is 20 years for us as a band, and this album is also our first to be entirely self-produced.”
Much of the work on “Mi Mejor Enemigo” took place in Orange County, at the multimedia complex Sonark Media. Sonark’s Eli Webb and Steven Raets served as studio engineers on the project and also share in the nomination.
Martinez is part of the “Sonark Collective,” heading up the record label that the company is starting up. He’s also busy in the music and arts community in Orange County and beyond, participating in festivals while doing studio and production work. One of his ongoing projects is Ikorma, a visual-arts duo with his father.
“My father and I are still doing Ikorma,” Martinez says. “He is in Spain at the moment doing a lot of printing as part of a residency course, and he’ll come here in March for two months of working together, which we do every year. As an artist, you’ve always got to hustle. Anything there is to do, I do.”
Meanwhile, Martinez and his Viniloversus bandmates are already working up another batch of material for their next album.
“The most important thing about the Grammy nomination is that we’re part of this community,” says Martinez. “There’s been a lot of support, people excited about it. It would be great to bring this award here, to Orange County. We’ll do some kind of celebration. It’s also the first Grammy nomination for Sonark. I’m very proud of all the work we do here.”
2019 Piedmont Laureate David Menconi’s most recent book, “Oh, Didn’t They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music,” was published in 2023 by University of North Carolina Press.
