Maria Elena and Buddy Holly Marriage Profile

The quick marriage of Buddy Holly and Maria Elena Santiago was cut short by the tragic death of Buddy in an airplane crash. Here is information on how Buddy and Maria met, their wedding, and more.

Charles Hardin Holley aka Buddy Holly: September 7, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas.

Maria Elena Santiago: 1935 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Buddy Holly: February 3, 1959 at the age of 22 in a plane crash north of Clear Lake, Iowa.

"In Lubbock, Buddy Holly was buried following afternoon services by Rev. Ben Johnson at the Tabernacle Baptist Church. Although an estimated one thousand people attended Holly's funeral, his widow, Maria Elena, was not among them."
Source: Larry Lehmer. The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, And Richie Valens. pg 126.

Maria and Buddy met in 1958 at the offices of music publisher Peer-southern Music in New York City where she was working as a receptionist.

Buddy proposed marriage on their first date. "Holly inivted Maria Elena to dinner the day he met her and proposed to her on that first date."
Source: Larry Lehmer. The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, And Richie Valens. 2003. pg 25.

Maria and Buddy were married on August 15, 1958 in Lubbock, Texas at Buddy's parents' home. Pastor Ben Johnson of the Tabernacle Baptist Church officiated at their wedding. Buddy and Maria had a two-week honeymoon in Acapulco, Mexico.
Buddy and Maria's Wedding Photos Each year on their wedding anniversary, Maria reportedly orders two dozen red roses, lights a candle, says a prayer, and asks why Buddy had to die.

Maria and Buddy were expecting their first baby at the time of his death. Maria miscarried after Buddy died.

Buddy: Singer, musician, songwriter.

Maria: Receptionist.

Four years after Buddy's death, Maria married Joe Diaz, a Puerto Rican government official. Maria and Joe had three children. Their marriage ended in divorce in the 1980s.

According to Maria, "her husband 'realized that my heart was not there. It was still with Buddy.'"
Source: "50 years on, Buddy Holly not fading away." Msnbc.msn.com. 2/2/2009.

Maria: "I'd never had a boyfriend in my life. I'd never been on a date before. But when I saw Buddy, it was like magic. We had something special: love at first sight."
Source: William Kerns. "Buddy and Maria Elena Holly married 50 years ago." LubbockOnline.com. 8/15/2008.

Joe Patoski: "I [Maria] was studying to be a dancer, a singer, and trying to finish college. I had so much going on," she says. But nothing had prepared her for this handsome 21-yearold gentleman from Texas who took her out to P. J. Clarke's in a limousine on their first date, stopping first at a radio station to record some jingles. Buddy would ask her to marry him that night. A week later she met his parents, whom Buddy flew to New York. Not long after that, she flew to Lubbock, and she and Buddy were married by Buddy's pastor from the Tabernacle Baptist Church in the Holley home."
Source: Joe Nick Patoski. "The Widow's Pique." Texas Monthly. 2/01. pg 96.

Travis Holley: "I admit I was surprised to hear Buddy was getting married. I didn't think he was stupid enough to fall into a trap like that so early in life. But I could understand when I met Maria. She was a little beauty, and very charming."
Source: William Kerns. "Buddy and Maria Elena Holly married 50 years ago." LubbockOnline.com. 8/15/2008.

Maria: "I blamed the music for his death. I couldn't even listen to his songs. But Joe convinced me that I was being greedy by keeping Buddy from his fans."
Source: Joe Nick Patoski. "The Widow's Pique." Texas Monthly. 2/01. pg 96.