An extended article about music in Costa Rica.
Republic of Costa Rica(Sp. República de Costa Rica).
Country in central America. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, by Panama to the south-east, by the Caribbean Sea to the east and by the Pacific Ocean to the south and west.
I. Art music
‘Costa Rican music is a white man's music, and of all Latin American countries is the least influenced by either the Indian or the Negro culture’ (Slonimsky, 1945). The recorded history of music in Costa Rica begins in 1845, when the Dirección General de Bandas was organized by the Guatemalan musician José Martínez; Martínez was succeeded on his death in 1852 by Manuel María Gutiérrez (1829–87), composer of the national anthem (1852), who was succeeded by Rafael Chávez Torres (1839–1907). These last two composers wrote marches, mazurkas, waltzes and similar pieces for band. Chávez Torres was followed by the Belgian Jean Loots (1872–1929), who organized the first, short-lived symphony orchestra (1926–7). In 1965 German Alvarado (b 1928), a later Director General de Bandas, founded a symphony orchestra in Heredia. Bands, one in each province, traditionally give weekly concerts in parks, and also participate in some church and government functions.
Music in public schools was reorganized in 1888 by the Spaniard José Campabadal (1849–1905). Musical education at higher levels was available at the Escuela Nacional de Música (1890–94) and the Escuela de Música S Cecilia (1894–1956). The Conservatorio Nacional de Música was founded in 1942 under the direction of Guillermo Aguilar Machado (1905–65), a Brussels-trained pianist; in 1944 it became part of the Universidad de Costa Rica, in 1972 it was renamed Escuela de Artes Musicales, and in 1976 a new building was opened for it on the university campus. The Conservatorio Castella, founded in 1953 by Arnoldo Herrera (b 1916), provides education for artistically talented children, and has given a start to many professionial musicians. Other centres of musical training include the Universidad Nacional de Heredia, the private Universidada Autónoma de Centroamérica and the Costa Rica National SO, which has had a youth programme and youth orchestra since 1971.
The Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Costa Rica National SO) was founded in 1940, with state support, by Hugo Mariani (1899–1965), an Italian violinist and conductor. Before then Costa Rican composers wrote for the bands; subsequently there was the opportunity to write symphonies, concertos etc. The operatic tradition is of longer standing. The Teatro Mora in San José, built in 1850, housed visiting companies, who sometimes used local singers and musicians, thus laying the ground for the Teatro Nacional (1897), one of the oldest in Latin America, financed by coffee growers through a voluntary tax.
Outside the band world, the first important composers were Alejandro Monestel and Julio Fonseca (1885–1950), the two founder teachers of composition at the Conservatorio Nacional, both of whom, like Aguilar Machado, had trained at the Brussels Conservatory. Monestel was active as an organist and composer in New York for many years between his stints at the Escuela de S Cecilia and the Conservatorio Nacional. He wrote in a somewhat Wagnerian style, his works including 14 masses, a cycle of five cantatas on the life of Christ, orchestral, chamber, organ and piano music. Fonseca covered the same genres (five masses, two cantatas) but showed rather some impressionist influence. He also wrote two of the earliest important stage works in Costa Rica: the operetta Money is Not All and Caperucita encarnada (1916), a children's play with music.
In the next generation, Julio Mata (1899–1969) had a diverse career as Director General de Bandas, teacher and composer of concert music, school songs and theatre pieces (the operetta Rosas de Norgaria, 1937; the zarzuela Toyupán, 1938). The works of his contemporary Alcides Prado (1900–80) include the zarzuela Milagro de Amor (1955) and the opera María (1976). Among the following generation are Ricardo Ulloa (b 1928), Rocío Sanz (1933–93), Bernal Flores (b 1937) and Benjamín Gutiérrez (b 1937). Rocío Sanz studied in the USA, Mexico (where she later settled) and the USSR. Gutiérrez's works, in a contemporary neo-Romantic style, include three operas (Marianela, 1957; El regalo de los reyes, 1961; El pájaro del crepúsculo, 1982) and several concertos. Flores, who composes in an atonal style based on the Hanson system of harmonic analysis, has written one opera (The Land of Heart's Desire, 1964, after Yeats) as well as orchestral music. The compositions of Jorge Luis Acevedo (b 1943), an ethnomusicologist, are based on his research in Costa Rica. Younger composers, wielding a range of contemporary techniques, include Mario Alfagüell (b 1948), Luis Diego Herra (b 1952) and William Porras (b 1956).
II. Traditional music
Costa Rican traditional music consists mainly of Hispanic-derived traditions, though Afro-Caribbean and indigenous traditions are also present. Only 2% of Costa Rica's current population of approximately four million are of African descent, and less than 1% are Amerindian. African influence can be traced in both the rhythmic structures of many genres and in the rise of particular instruments. However, Iberian polyphony in parallel 3rds, Hispanic melodies and Western harmony predominate in most Costa Rican traditional music. The influence of indigenous music has rarely extended to other national groups or to art music composers.
1. Amerindian peoples.
Although Costa Rica was occupied by Mesoamerican and lower Central American cultures, only six groups remain belonging to the Chibchan language stock: the Bribri, the Cabécar, the Guatuso, the Guaimí, the Boruca and the Térraba. These groups display diverse levels of acculturation, but it is possible to study certain aspects of their traditional culture and music. Estimates of the current indigenous population vary from 20,000 to approximately 34,000 representing about 1% or less of the total Costa Rican population.
(i) Talamancan Indians (Bribri and Cabécar).
There are approximately 9000 Cabécar and 12,000 Bribri living in the south-east. Because of their cultural similarities and since their territories are spread at both sides of the Talamanca mountains, both groups are often referred to as the Talamancan Indians. They exhibit a striking similarity in musical repertories and styles, although names and song texts may be in the group's own languages. Bribri terminology is used here.
Contemporary Talamancan music is strictly vocal, consisting of monophonic, hemitonic and syllabic singing, with oscillating and arc-shaped melodies. A distinction between si wa' a (‘in the air’) and ajko ki (‘on the mouth’) genres can be made. All si wa' a chants use ritual speech, differing greatly from everyday language, and are performed only by shamans. Three types of chant are known: those performed by the awápa (medicine shamans) for healing, hunting, witchcraft and house inaugurations, chants for funerary rites performed by the stsokölpa (funerary shamans) and the chants performed by the úsêkölpa (priests) for dealing with collective problems such as wars and natural disasters. All are syllabic, strophic and monophonic; only the funerary chants are accompanied with rattles. Most are tritonic and tetratonic, some pentatonic, usually with oscillating melodies. The tempo is generally very slow; in funerary dances it can be accelerated. Currently, only the awápa chants are practised.
There is a strong gender division for the performance of the ajko ki song genres. Women's songs are in Bribri or Cabécar; vernacular language in music may only be used by women. These songs include several types of kan█ stse (work songs) and alála ajkon█ ie (songs for children); in addition, women may occasionally compose new songs on free themes, generally romantic anecdotes. All are monophonic and without accompaniment. The melodies of women's songs are the richest of Talamancan music: scales are pentatonic, tetratonic and occasionally larger, while the pitch ranges are the widest found in Talamancan music. Although women have more access to music than men, they always sing for daily activities which are not intended as public occasions and are listened to only by children, other women working together, or casual and closely related listeners.
Men's songs include dule songs for entertainment, and songs for bùl dances which correspond to two choreographic structures: one in a circle and the other in a row. Both men and women dance together singing nonsensical refrains in a responsorial style with a male leader. The dule songs and the bùl dance songs, which are performed in broken Téribe, require some formal training and currently only a few men can sing them. The mostly tritonic melodies are very simple. Only the dule songs, which have practically disappeared, had drum accompaniment. Men also used to sing work songs, from which derives the practice of shouting patterns of two high and low tones during heavy-duty collective work.
(ii) Guatuso Indians.
There are approximately 1000 Guatuso in the north. According to A. Constenla Umaña (1993) they group the chanted and recited genres together as mauláca maráma which include porá maráma (curing and sorcery formulas), majuáqui urújecá maráma (spiritual strengthening formulas) and poréteca maráma (songs). The curing and sorcery formulas are chanted in a recitative-like style. The spiritual strengthening formulas are mostly recited with the exception of a single chant; the ritual speech used in them is almost impossible to translate. The poréteca maráma comprise the most melodically diverse songs with ranges of three or four to six notes. Within these, turrúcu lh'írreca maráma (lovers' songs) are the most common and are used for dancing. These songs are the sole property of the individual composers; no one else can sing them without permission. They can be accompanied by a single-headed drum (up to 70cm tall) which is usually played by the singer to the beat of the dance steps. The interior of the traditional drums is hourglass-shaped; they are made by burning the interior of a cedar trunk from both sides. The wood type and the shape give these drums a very rich timbre. The choreography consists of a row of mixed female and male dancers holding hands and stepping forwards and backwards. A single dancer with or without a drum can also perform his or her song. The topics of these songs are anecdotal in nature, relating amorous adventures and misfortunes, often with explicit sexual content.
Only two exclusively instrumental practices are known among the Guatuso. A free aerophone consisting of a small board attached to a string was used in the past by mostly female diviners as an oracle to consult the goddess Lhafára. Several types of reed whistle are built and used on the occasion of a death, and played by children to inform the dead that they have died; the whistles are then discarded.
(iii) Guaimí Indians.
Approximately 5000 Guaimí live in the south of the country. Their musical repertory includes entertainment songs, traditional dances, the balsería ritual game and, since the 1960s, songs of the Mamachí cult, which is based on Catholic tradition. Entertainment songs (usually pentatonic, with arc-shaped and descending melodic lines) are mostly performed by women. The song texts of traditional dances, in broken Bocotá, are sung with wide vibrato, a practice exclusive to this genre. Most of the melodies are based on only two notes and can be accompanied with rattles.
The balsería has been described as a game, but in its more general social function it is actually a ritual contest between dominant social groups. Important rich men challenge each other, each gathering a team; the whole community prepares for a big festivity in which a game consisting of throwing balsa poles to the feet of the opponent is played. Most music performances occur while people are on their way to the contest and during the activities preceding the game. Besides solo songs and duets performed mostly by males, several instruments are played: gourd ocarinas, flutes, whistles, cow horn, rattles and turtle-shells (Velásquez and Brandt, 1979, pp.36–7). The musical structure is very free and sometimes the instruments follow independent melodies. Balsería music is not a genre but rather combines several musical genres. It is practically extinct among the Costa Rican Guaimí and is a dying tradition among the Panamanian Guaimí.
The Mamachí (‘Little Mother’) cult was founded in Panama by María Adelia Atencio, who received a message from God and the Virgin Mary to save the Guaimí. There are solo performances by the religious leader and chants in a responsorial style between leader and chorus which recall the Catholic litanies. Some Guaimí songs also have responsorial texture between two voices. The Mamachí cult is a strong practice both in Costa Rica and Panama which requires more in-depth study.
(iv) Boruca and Térraba Indians.
The Boruca and the Térraba are located in contiguous territories in the south. There are approximately 5000 Boruca and 1200 Térraba. Their languages are fast becoming extinct. The Boruca practise two important annual festivities involving music: the fiesta de los diablitos and the fiesta de los negritos. Little survives of other musical activities. Only six Boruca songs (mostly cradle songs) and 12 Térraba songs (composed on personal anecdotes and other subjects) are known. Texts of several of these songs, as well as other indigenous song texts, are compiled and analysed in A. Constenla Umaña (1996).
The fiesta de los diablitos is usually from 28 December to 2 January but can last longer. As a dramatic representation, ritual game or festival, it recalls the battles between Indians (the devils) and Spaniards (symbolized by a bull) in which the Indians win. Although the whole community participate, only men play as diablitos. The diablitos run through the town for several days, ‘stealing’ ready-prepared food and corn beer from the houses. They constantly play reed whistles or plastic recorders and small double-head drums in a random manner. A bull horn or a conch-shell is played only by the diablo mayor (major devil). The festivity ends with the symbolic killing of the bull, a person inside a wooden frame covered with cloth and wearing a bull mask.
The fiesta de los negritos is performed from 6 to 8 December, coinciding with the Catholic feast of La Virgen de la Purísma Concepción. Some men dress in the skins of animals and dance around a man holding a wooden mule head, painting their faces with soot or black shoe polish. Plastic recorders (which have replaced traditional reed whistles in both festivals) are played at random. In both feasts there are performances with non-indigenous instruments such as accordions, guitars and violins accompanying popular dances. The Térraba also had a festivity involving music called the fiesta de la vaquita (Cow Feast) performed on 4 October for their patron saint, St Francis, which disappeared during the 1960s.
2. Criollo and mestizo music.
Hispanic-derived oral traditions in Costa Rica are based mainly on romances (Spanish ballads; ex.1), coplas (quatrains), both recited and sung, and retaílas (long and fast recited narrations). Coplas, décimas (ten-line stanzas) and sestillas (six-line stanzas) are best preserved in children's songs, in songs from the province of Guanacaste and the Valle Central region and in religious music related to Catholic festivals. The practice of these Hispanic-derived traditions in daily life is fast disappearing, with the exceptions of religious music and children's songs. Some of the romance texts for children's songs maintain clear similarities with the Spanish originals, many dating from the Middle Ages. The melodies are strophic, rhythmically simple and diatonic. Some of these children's songs are round dances and choreographed plays. The music group Cantares has a long history of collecting and performing arrangements of Costa Rican romances and other musical traditions, collected mainly in the Valle Central area by themselves and by the well-known folklorist Emilia Prieto (1902–86). The composer and performer Lencho Salazar also deserves mention for his long-term commitment to the promotion of folk music from the Valle Central and other areas.
The Spanish guitar is found all over the country in several types of ensembles. The mandolina was traditionally used mostly in the south but is still used in rondalla (tuna) ensembles and occasionally together with guitar ensembles. Keyboard and button accordions are also used to accompany folksongs of Hispanic influence related to daily life, in rondalla ensembles and in Catholic religious songs.
The two best-known traditional music styles are the parrandera and the pasillo. Both show the hemiola rhythmic ambivalence, a Hispanic-African trait found throughout Latin America. Spaniards brought African slaves, but Afro-Caribbean musical influence in Costa Rica has also come from Cuba via Mexico, from countries such as Colombia and Venezuela and from Jamaican immigrants who went to the province of Limón in the 19th century.
Parrandera means music for parrandas (parties); it has sometimes been called punto and son, but is very different from the Cuban forms. The parrandera is very fast and joyful, and can be purely instrumental or a dance-song. The musical ensemble varies from marimba (xylophone with resonators), guitars and sometimes a bass drum with cymbals, to small brass wind bands called cimarronas. Apart from the fast hemiola rhythm, a parrandera can include a slow danza-style tempo in 2/4. This combination of parrandera with danza is sometimes called contradanza by trained musicians, but traditional musicians classify this mixture as a parrandera.
The pasillo is a waltz form, similar to the Colombian genre of the same name. In the central regions a slow, vocal and instrumental interpretation of pasillo is the most popular, and akin to the taste of the middle and upper classes, whereas a fast and usually strictly instrumental interpretation of pasillo is popular in Guanacaste. In general, folksongs from the central areas have a slow tempo and are mostly in 3/4 metre, accompanied by guitars alone. The tambito rhythm, in 6/8 and also with hemiola characteristics, is popular in guitar music from the Valle Central region.
The marimba is particularly associated with Guanacaste. There are both chromatic and diatonic marimbas in Costa Rica; formerly there were also marimbas de arco (marimba with a bowed wooden arc). The chromatic marimba grande (large marimba), from Guanacaste, with a total of 78 keys, has become a national symbol although diatonic marimbas are the most traditional. The marimba en escuadra is an ensemble consisting of one marimba grande and one marimba tenor with 57 keys. Other marimba ensembles often include guitars, brass wind instruments such as trumpets and saxophones, snare and bass drums and cymbals. The quijongo, a musical bow with gourd resonator of African origin, used to accompany dances, is another instrument from Guanacaste; it is no longer played in daily life but is being revived through folkloric promotion.
It is common in music from Guanacaste to recite old or improvised coplas (quatrains) in the middle of a song or dance after interjecting ‘¡bomba!’ (‘bomb’) to ask for a musical break for the recitation; these quatrains are called bombas. After the recitation, dancers and spectators shout ‘¡uyuyui bajura!’The traditional music from Guanacaste and the well-known national hymns and songs derived from it are considered Costa Rica's folk music par excellence in both official and popular discourses.
Costa Rican folk dances are clearly inspired by criollo adaptations of Spanish and European rhythms, dances and costumes, some of them including shoe-tapping and choreographic steps similar to those of the fandango, jota of Aragon, paso doble, polka, mazurka, minuet and waltz. Other Hispanic-derived rhythms found throughout Costa Rica are the habanera, other types of tango rhythms and boleros. Mexican mariachi and guitar trio ensembles playing bolero music with romantic lyrics are a significant presence in Costa Rica's musical scene.
The turno (fair) is an important tradition which is still practised throughout the country and provides a context for performances of traditional music. A turno is a street fair to raise money for local schools, church or other community development associations. These fairs are held during one or several weekends and are highlighted by funfair-style activities, traditional clown parades called mascaradas, horse shows and competitions, fireworks and consumption of traditional food. Cimarronas (small wind bands with percussion) always perform on these occasions. Cimarronas are traditional music ensembles found throughout the country, usually consisting of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, clarinets, snare and bass drums and cymbals. Sometimes transverse flutes, oboes, violins and accordions are added, depending on availability. This band music is associated with working-class social events; however, people from all classes recognize and enjoy cimarrona music as traditional music. The strictly instrumental repertory includes polkas, mazurkas, Spanish jotas and paso dobles, marches, valses and the traditional parrandera from Guanacaste.
There are also brass bands with percussion sponsored by local government. These usually perform weekly retretas (evening concerts) and recreos (Sunday morning concerts). Their repertory includes traditional music similar to that of the cimarronas but with more military and symphonic music, national hymns, and even music from zarzuelas (Spanish operettas).
Popular religious music is fairly widespread with patron saint celebrations involving music throughout the year in almost every town. The Nativity cycle is the most important religious celebration since it brings together several strong Costa Rican traditions in which music performances have a central role. Posadas (visits to houses simulating the trip of Mary and Joseph) before Christmas Day and the Nativity prayers after Christmas until February 2 (Purification Day) are practised with deep devotion. The music ensemble consists primarily of voices with guitar accompaniment, sometimes with violins, accordions, tambourines, drums and cymbals. The singing can be monophonic or based on parallel 3rds, with chorus and responsorial textures. Romances can also be found in songs of the Nativity cycle. Protestant religious music has been gaining importance since the 1970s.
3. Afro-Caribbean music.
African slaves were brought to Costa Rica in colonial times, but the current Costa Rican black population, concentrated in the south-eastern province of Limón, is descended mostly from Jamaican immigrants who came in the 1870s to build the railway from the Valle Central area to the Caribbean Sea. This population is the largest Costa Rican minority group but accounts for only about 2% of the total population. The Limón population also includes criollo and Amerindian peoples, Chinese, South Asians and Italians, making Limón the most culturally diverse province of Costa Rica. With the Afro-Caribbean population came three particular cultural characteristics: African-derived folklore, Protestant religious practices and a creole language based on Jamaican English called Mecatelio, currently in decline. Jamaican English is also spoken.
Protestant church hymns have always been important in the music of Limón, although Catholic church music is also strong. The Baha'i religion, which incorporates English and indigenous languages in its hymns, has also gained some importance. A syncretic religion combining African and Protestant beliefs, known as pocomía, was practised at the beginning of the 20th century and involved spirit possession through music.
The cuadrilla, a square dance of rural English origin, was formerly danced by Limón middle and upper classes, as well as minuets, waltzes and polkas. Recently the cuadrilla has been danced by folklore revival groups.
Carnival music and calypso remain the only traditions with some vitality, with both incorporating modern practices in order to survive. Formerly, calypso served as a means of improvised verbal competition between two singers. The lyrics can have humorous or sexual content, involve insults, political criticism, narrations of everyday life in the coast, and celebration of the Caribbean landscape. Traditionally, the singers accompanied themselves with a banjo which has mostly been replaced by the guitar. A different verbal and musical style of calypso for dancing is still practised. Because of the international diffusion of reggae music and the Rastafarian movement, the Limón calypso has regained importance and several young groups performing calypso have appeared not only in Limón but also in the capital and other parts of the country. For many years, the San José group Cantoamérica has promoted arrangements of calypsos from Limón with lyrics by traditional musicians.
The calypso ensemble can consist of banjo, guitar, güiro or maracas, bongos and conga-type drums as well as the typical one-string box bass from Limón called quijongo limonense, bajo de caja and bajo limonense, which is used not only for calypso but also for other music styles. It consists of a simple wooden box, open at the bottom or at one side. One end of a thick nylon string is attached to the centre of the upper side of the box and the other end to a long stick, which is placed by the player in a corner of the box (see illustration). It is easily portable and its strong, low sound competes well with electronic instruments. This instrument has been incorporated into other types of ensemble in other regions.
Carnival, known in the entire country as carnaval de Limón, is celebrated on 12 October. The celebration of carnival started in 1949, inspired by carnaval de Colón in Panama. The major event is a parade and competition of comparsas, groups of parading dancers and percussion ensembles. These ensembles consist of drums such as the bombo (bass drum), snare drums of several sizes, timbales and conga-type drums as well as idiophones such as the cowbell, güiro, cymbals, rattles, claves and sheki-sheki (two joined cans with beads inside). Brass instruments, banjo and guitars are sometimes added. Afro-Caribbean polyrhythmic and syncopated structures are present but are not systematic. Some comparsas include children as dancers called (mascotas: ‘pets’); there are also comparsas exclusively of children. Several turnos are held throughout the province and the carnival can last from three to five days. Big street concerts are organized and dance clubs are open almost all day long for the numerous visiting Costa Ricans and tourists. Some comparsas from Limón also participate in the San José carnival, mostly a parade of floats held during the last days of the year.
4. Popular and urban music.
During the first two-thirds of the 20th century, the Costa Rican popular music scene was influenced by bolero, tango, big band music and several Mexican genres as well as visits from Caribbean and South American bands. National bands and composers followed these trends. Current processes of acculturation are reflected in the musical consumption of international rock, rap, jazz and Caribbean genres such as salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggae, calypso, soca and punta. Romantic bolero music is now enjoyed by young people because of its internationally successful revival. Many local bands imitate and create variations based on all these music styles; there are also small ensembles of electroacoustic instrumental music that merge jazz with other rhythms, such as salsa, calypso and tango. Mexican rancheras, corridos, norteñas, mariachi music, Colombian vallenatos and cumbias are highly valued by mostly working-class people. Mariachi music is however appreciated by all for special parties and serenades. Spanish paso dobles are always included in the dance music of middle- and upper-class parties.
Several popular dance academies have appeared since 1990 and have proved very successful among the middle class; forms such as the cha cha cha, mambo and tango have reappeared in dance clubs. In addition, the middle class have begun to follow the working-class manner of dancing cumbia and bolero pirateado, the former very fast, with many turns and hops. The bolero pirateado is a combination of bolero and cha cha cha steps that is characterized by a very fast tempo and dancers turning quickly on their heels. The studying, teaching and performance of dance is promoted by the members of Centro de Enseñanza e Investigación del Baile Popular: Merecumbé which has schools of popular dance in several provinces. Folk music and dance revival groups of criollo and mestizo music have also appeared since the 1980s, and bands mix arrangements of folk music and song texts with popular dance rhythms such as cumbia, salsa and bolero.
The recording of local commercial bands increased substantially in the late 1980s, undertaken by many private studios and major transnational companies. National soundtrack production has also developed, for both local and international documentaries, films and commercials.
Live music performances by local and foreign bands occur on a regular basis in many dance clubs. Large street concerts with well-known international artists are held frequently, as Costa Rica is now recognized as an effective marketing place in Central America. Working-class people attend fairly large dance clubs called salones de baile where they dance mostly popular rhythms such as salsa, cumbia, merengue and bolero pirateado, although, because of the influence of popular dance academies, middle-class people also now attend. Young middle-class people prefer small dance clubs called discotecas at weekends where electronic music, mostly rock and techno, is played.
There are also local music bands of urban protest music inspired by the South American nueva canción and Caribbean nueva trova movements and bands of several types of jazz and other popular musics; but these genres are consumed only by young or educated people in selected locales.
BERNAL FLORES ZELLER (I), LAURA CERVANTES GAMBOA (II)
