I met him as his photographer. I ended up as his driver. Somewhere in a cornfield near Bucharest, the distance between photographer and subject disappeared.
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I first met Marty in 2022, in Washington, at an event organised by my good friend Radu Groza. The photographer and the artist — the classic relationship. Controlled distance, lights, framing.
In 2024 he came to Romania. Besides being his photographer, I was also his personal driver for three days. Except the start of that collaboration was, let's say, memorable.
I was supposed to pick him up from Otopeni airport. He waited for me on level −1, at domestic arrivals. I was upstairs, at international, where I was sure he had to be. I'd missed one essential detail: Romania had just joined Schengen, and flights from the EU had become domestic. One hour. He waited for me for an hour. Alone, no staff. A man and a guitar.
When we finally found each other, I stammered in broken English, apologising with all sorts of useless explanations. Marty was completely relaxed, with an almost Transylvanian calm.
"No worries, man."
We set off for Bucharest. Traffic was completely gridlocked, so I took an alternative route — a single lane, under the railway, straight through a cornfield that rose to the height of the car. Zero visibility to the sides. Total silence. And corn. Marty looked at me for a long moment. Then, smiling:
"You are not Dexter's brother, right?"
Over the three days that followed, we talked about concerts, about his career, about his studio in Miami. The distance between photographer and subject had vanished completely — as it sometimes does, when the circumstances are absurd enough to break any protocol.
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For anyone who doesn't know him: Marty Cintron is the voice and guitar of No Mercy — the band behind "Where Do You Go", the 1996 hit that reached number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and went platinum in Germany. A kid from the Bronx, with a band born on South Beach, in Miami.
Today I'm heading to Otopeni again to wait for him. This time, I know where domestic arrivals are.
Tomorrow, Saturday, 11 July, Marty plays in Romania — at Zaga Zaga, as part of Diskoteka Party by Mihai Morar, alongside Kaoma. A man and a guitar, on stage again.
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Text and photos: Adi Coco · AdiCoco.com
