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Cantares: Voices of the Costa Rican People The Costa Rican musical group Cantares will take the stage at the Alden Theatre in McLean, Virginia on May 22. This talented Costa Rican group made their debut on July 25, 1980 intent on proving the existence of genuine Costa Rican culture and folklore, sometimes questioned by precipitous critics. Through its coplas, cantatas, retahilas, Christmas carols and pregones, Cantares takes the audience on a journey through different stages of Costa Rican music with a sensitive and investigative approach. It moves from the Treasure of Nayudel (1522) to the National War of 1856 in a historical cantata once performed with the National Youth Symphony Orchestra. The work portrays major scenes of the war against the Yankee adventurer William Walker, sought to conquer the country but failed thanks to national hero Juan Santamaría. They sing from Galileo to Cervantes—poetic inspirations composed by Director Dionisio Cabal–, from the rural anecdote to urban pregones. Cantares is pure folklore and creation teeming with Costa Rican values. In spite of Costa Rica’s modest size, its musical tradition is found in different genres across the country. Special recognition must be made of the indigenous heritage from pre-Columbian times: ritual songs, rare scales and instruments such as ocarinas have been rescued and sometimes mixed with other genders in order to pay tribute to those who originally inhabited the land. In the Peninsula of Nicoya, located in the province of Guanacaste to the northwest, Spanish and Indigenous rhythms combine in lively and expressive mestizo productions used traditionally as the major representation of popular folk music. Attired in colorful long skirts and with an orchid in their hair, girls dance to the rhythm of the marimba while shouting bombas (spontaneous humorous verses) to recall the festive Costa Rican spirit at popular religious celebrations and fiestas. With a predominantly black population, the Atlantic coast is the scenario of Afro-Caribbean music and traditions. Salsa, reggae, calypso, and rumba are among the inviting Caribbean rhythms that fill the air in the province of Limón. Cantares belongs to the New Costa Rican Song movement that emerged at the end of the seventies and early eighties. Although its members are able to interpret with great skill some of the music described above, their work has focused on the collection of popular anonymous production from the central region in an effort to compensate for the interest that has prevailed in the study of traditions in Guanacaste, which--for some Costa Ricans--seem to constitute the cradle of their folklore. Although this is partially true, limiting the study to the northwestern part of the country would account only for the history and traditions that developed after the annexation of Nicoya, a region that used to belong to Nicaragua and which became part of our country in 1825. The group believes that "folklore does not belong to the past. People create culture everyday, so we are interested in the present as well as in the past." Cantares fulfills its purpose by talking to common people, exploring and discovering old compositions or using the testimonies collected to create new ones. In-depth research conducted mainly Cabal--baritone, director and composer--in collaboration with the other members, namely, Aurelia Trejos (soprano), Juan Carlos Mena (bass), and Freddy Meléndez (percussionist). Cantares has toured internationally in the United States, Europe, Venezuela, Colombia and Panama. They have performed at the Gorky Park in Moscow, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Cádiz Festival, and the National University of Bogotá, among others. In Costa Rica they have toured more extensively than any other group, bringing their music to Costa Ricans from all social levels and walks of life. They know how to share their national sentiment with the world without losing sight of universal concerns and values while conveying the spiritual, peaceful and democratic patrimony that has long characterized Costa Rica. In their song El Siglo nos Llama, Cantares invites us to reflect about the transition between centuries: "Let’s come feel the pulse, rush to hear the clock tick as the century dies away, a harvest of fear hangs over the earth, the ghost of war has risen again." Just as they present the problem, they also call out to join efforts in finding a common solution: "In some dark corner, in the way of an important secret, this century that is growing old, is announcing a decree of interest: let the dove fly with its olive branch up high, for the century that is coming shall be the century of life". Sabino Morera is Minister Counselor for Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of Costa Rica, Washington, D.C. |
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