Everybody love callaloo...

  

Calypso - Costa Rica
1996

Tracks:

1. Big Nose Jaral - New Revelation
2. Fire - New Revelation
3. Zancudo - Tin Tan
4. Fire - Cahuita Calypso
5. La Confianza - Junior Emilio Alvares
6. Pompaper - New Revelation
7. Jamaica Farewell - Reynaldo Kenton
8. True Born Costa Rican - Charro De Limon
9. El Gallo - New Revelation
10. Mama - New Revelation
11. Fiesta - New Revelation
12. Black Man - Charro De Limon
13. Paquiria - Junior Emilio Alvares
14. Violence - New Revelation
15. Caroline - Cahuita Calypso
16. Cabin In The Water - Walter 'Gavitt' Ferguson

 

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When someone says "calypso," one naturally thinks of Trinidad. But hidden here and there in the Caribbean are little pockets of the old calypso tradition, somewhat static, but still vibrant. This album looks at the virtually unknown English-speaking calypso community of Spanish-speaking Costa Rica. While these artists have a "frozen in time" sound to them, the music is nonetheless wonderful. In solo settings and small ensembles of percussion, guitars and voices, the older generation of Puerto Limon sets out a rootsy, gritty music with a generous dose of enthusiasm. The pop-influenced New Revelation offer pleasant tunes; the gritty Charo de Limon performs some good social commentary, accompanying himself with one of the rawest guitar sounds this side of Joseph Spence. The best of the lot is Cahuita Calypso: with a banjo and rhythm box courting the call and response of the vocals, they offer the most African-rooted sound. ~ Louis Gibson

  

 ***

  

As winning as it is unexpected, this soundtrack to a French documentary uncovers a pocket of natural musical fusion on the coasts of Central America. Anglophone immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago brought their love of swinging story-songs with them when they arrived on the coasts of Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The results remain unadorned and acoustic, ranging from the rough-and-ready New Revelation band, who harmonize in English and Spanish, to the itinerant Nicaraguan performer Tin Tan, who cleverly adapts calypso cadences to his Spanish lyrics. The instrumental "La Confianza" by Junior Emilio Alvares introduces Latin elements, creating calypso-rumba. Where a similar junket could yield hissing, ethnographer-pleasing field recordings, CALYPSO: COSTA RICA, by dint of being a soundtrack, is delightfully clear and modern-sounding. The extra-deep bass and percussion even lend an air of samba to the already heavily miscegenated mix -- what could be more joyous? ~ Mark Schwartz

 

***

  

In Costa Rica, the calypso and other afro-caribbean rhythms are mostly important in the Province of Limón, where most of the Jamaican immigrations first came in the nineteenth century.

  

Walter 'Gavitt' Ferguson 

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