>>>SAN JOSE, (Jul. 2) IPS - Calypso, a rhythm originating in the Caribbean
>>>Basin during the era of African slavery, had been limited in Costa Rica
>to
>>>the coastal Limon province until a musician recently brought it to the
>>>capital's recording studios.
>>> Over the last two decades, Manuel Monestel, a sociologist and
>musician,
>>>has forged the "Cantoamerica" project, a group specializing in Latin
>>>American music that experiments with and develops Afro-Caribbean and
>urban
>>>rhythms. He has recently turned his attention to calypso.
>>> Monestel is a believer that calypso is an important expression of a
>>>culture that has been marginalized from Costa Rica's daily life - the
>>>culture of the Caribbean black community.
>>> This Central American country has built its official history around
>its
>>>central valley, which is less than six percent of the entire country,
but
>>>it is where nearly half of its 3.5 million inhabitants live. Frequently,
>>>the cultural wealth of the rest of the nation is forgotten.
>>> "Calypso is more than just a rhythm -- its words reflect the life of
>>>the society, they satirize it, criticise it, love it and also laugh at
it
>>>-- it is common for calypso to contain a lot of humor," Monestel told
>IPS.
>>>
>>> It is thought that composers of calypsos -- or "calypsonians" -- are
>>>the direct descendants of black musicians known as "chantuelles," who
>>>during the slave era, spread news among the Caribbean population.
>>> With their guitars slung on their shoulders, these minstrels sang and
>>>informed people about all kinds of things -- from rebellions to jokes.
>>>They were the chroniclers of their time.
>>> There is no authoritative explanation for the origin of the music's
>>>name, but it evokes the goddess Calypso, a character in Homer's Odyssey
>>>who keeps the hero on her island for seven years.
>>> In the Caribbean islands, calypso is known as "kaiso," and has such a
>>>strong influence over the public that it has reportedly affected the
>>>outcomes of national elections.
>>> "Calypso is the raw material for many rhythms that are popular now,"
>>>said Oscar Sequeira from his seat under a palm tree in Limon's central
>>>park -- a massive man wearing a white guayabera (a Caribbean shirt) and
a
>>>straw hat.
>>> Sequeira is a music instructor at a school in Limon, but he is also
>the
>>>leader of "Caribbean Calypso," one of the best known musical groups of
>the
>>>genre in the Costa Rican Caribbean.
>>> After the colonial era, calypso spread throughout the Antilles and,
>>>thanks to traveling festivals, it became very popular in places such as
>>>Trinidad and Tobago, where it still maintains its social force.
>>> This rhythm arrived in countries like Costa Rica thanks to the
>>>migration of people from the Antilles, where it began to take on the
>local
>>>flavor.
>>> Calypso is sung, usually in creole English, and recounts the joys and
>>>misfortunes of the banana plantations, and the romances of the people,
as
>>>well as making social criticisms.
>>> Calypso is an art form in which the performers made their black
public
>>>laugh in the face of the social ills they suffered.
>>> For example, the Limonese calypsonian Papa Tun, as he is known,
>>>composed this humorous calypso about a malaria epidemic:
>>> "Zancudo, zancudo, no me piques mas/no quiero malaria/no quiero
>>>morir/no me piques mas/no me piques mas/no me piques mas."
>>> (Mosquito, mosquito, don't bite me anymore/I don't want malaria/ I
>>>don't want to die/don't bite me anymore/don't bite me anymore/ don't
bite
>>>me anymore.)
>>> Through its musical "rescue work," Cantoamerica has joined forces
with
>>>the one of the region's most respected calypsonians, an 80-year-old
black
>>>man who lives in the town of Cahuita in Limon province. His name is
>Walter
>>>Ferguson, but he is better known as Mister Gavitt.
>>> Gavitt sings about the little things -- life's details -- but he has
>>>also created calypsos with strong social meaning. In one of them, called
>>>"Retribution," he clearly captures the differences among social classes
>>>and their consequences. This is just a fragment:
>>> "Retribution/I want to sing it loud and clear/retribution/I want the
>>>people to hear/Pushing people's children in the gutter/And you are
living
>>>in luxury/Every day you got your bread and butter/And then you practice
>>>hypocrisy."
>>> Mister Gavitt continues composing and he sends his work to Monestel
in
>>>San Jose, where the musician has been performing Gavitt's work with his
>>>band.
>>> Monestel's newest project is to write a book about calypso, and his
>>>seventh Cantoamerica recording is expected to be ready for release this
>>>August, which will be appropriately named "Calypsonians."
>>> The disk includes 10 songs (nine by Ferguson and one by Monestel),
>>>which Monestel hopes will be a tribute to all calypso composers in the
>>>region. >>
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