About us

Javier Martinez Cen was born and raised in Isla Mujeres and learned to cook in his families kitchen.  With musicians throughout generations of the family, these were two talents Javier was bound to inherit.  Growing up in his Mexican home, there were always lots of family members to feed and authentic Mexican food to share.  Javier is personable, talented, makes friends easily and began cooking for his new friends when they would visit the island.  His love of cooking, creating and sharing recipes created a natural progression to becoming a self-taught chef.

Marla Martinez was born in Alabama and has lived in several southern states before moving to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland and then back to the south, Atlanta.  After a consulting career that showed her the world, she moved to Isla Mujeres in 2010.  

Marla now consults with entrepreneurs on business development based on her own experience of creating businesses. In addition to her businesses with Javi,  Dinnertainment, Javi’s Cantina, Javi’s Rockin’ Kitchen YouTube Channel, Marla also has My Isla T-shirt and Isla Mujeres Vacation Rentals.  You can visit her website, IMVR, at http://www.islamujeresvacationrentals.com  that offer something for every type of traveler.

Both Javi and Marla are involved in the community and can often be found volunteering or donating to other causes through their businesses.  They have also started a fundraiser for local musicians, Broken Strings don’t have to mean Broken Dreams.  This came from a fundraiser for Javi in 2019 after a motorcycle accident that left him without use of his hands for several months.  Thanks to the help from friends, he is back to playing guitar, cooking great food and loving his community.