On
March 18th, Puerto Viejo-Limon Talamanca,
Costa Rica will be holding an "Arts
and Music Festival of the South Caribbean
Coast" to promote the region's
cultural heritage and its national
music, celebrate the fusion of the
many styles of music found in Costa
Rica, and to upgrade Afro-Caribbean
cultural awareness, as well as its
appreciation. This incredible event
takes place at the Playa Chiquita
(www.playachiquitalodge.com),
an eco-lodge situated near a tropical
rainforest and the white-sand beaches
of Puerto Viejo. The lodge is run
by Wolf Bissinger, a retired German
lawyer, and his wife, Wanda Patterson,
who is Costa Rican by birth, brought
up in New York, and a former dancer
with the Alvin Ailey company.
The Arts and Music Festival of the
South Caribbean Coast is now a longstanding
tradition which attracts well-known
music figures like Manuel Monastel,
whose "Canto America" musical
group conjures the sights and sounds
of Costa Rica with their Afro-Caribbean
rhythms, and jazz giant, Manuel Obregon
(www.manuelobregon.com),
whose career includes 14 solo recordings,
music research, creation of the Papaya
Music label, and work in theater,
dance, and cinema. Born in Costa Rica,
Obregon studied music in Spain and
Switzerland, has formed a number of
music groups--including the Papaya
Orchestra, Afro Cosmos, Sporadic Jazz
Quintet, Malpais, and Gospel Caribe--and
collaborated with filmmaker, Jose
Cortes, in the video and live-concert
production of "Simbiosis"
in 2004.
Other
artists include Luis Angel Castro
(www.luisangelcastro.com),
a folk singer and well-known national
musician who has adopted Puerto Viejo
as his home. This year, the event
features "Musica Para El Alma",
a group that mixes vocals, guitar,
marimba, percussion, bajo, and quijongo.
Parallel
to the festival is an Art Workshop
program, developed as a nonprofit
with a special focus on children,
in particular creating an appreciation
of the arts in youth. Some of the
festival proceeds each year are donated
to children's activities: one year
band instruments were given to a local
school, in others theater performances
and workshops teaching children about
theater and scenic arts have taken
place, a playground has been built,
and collaboration with an ecology
center has also taken place. All of
this is meant to teach teamwork, dedication,
and cooperation, the better to address
the challenges these children will
face in life.
See
the event details...
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