We are introducing new activities at work. This week, we will dedicate some time to try Costa Rican coffee, we are also going to introduce some cakes and have some Costa Rican background music. And me, the Costa Rican barista! haha. (I will also be projecting one of my videos on the wall across the street).
Anyways, today I have been trying to find music that I can play, and I ran into Mr. Gavitt, or Walter Ferguson, the King of Calipso. This man recorded his fisrt CD at the age of 83! He was born in Panamá, but shortly moved to Costa Rica, to Jamaica Town in Port Limón, where he grew up. Later on he moved to Cahuita, a small town in the southern part of the province where he still lives today. In the 50's he started to write calypsos and has written over a 100 until today. He used to travel all through the caribean coast (from Blue Fields, Nicaragua to Bocas del Toro, Panamá) on calypso challenges and he was soon known as one of the biggest calypsonians. More recently Mr. Ferguson started recording his own music on cassettes that he would then sell as souvenirs. Each cassette was a unique personal concert. That is something! He is now a cultural icon of the Afro Costa Rican culture, and has had several honorable mentions by different cultural entities through out the country. I will definitely be playing him this week.
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