What do the sounds of the Pacific and the Caribbean have in common? Next Friday, May 22, at the Centro Cívico por la Paz in Santa Cruz, the interactive concert “De Mar a Mar” will offer a journey through the memories and Afro-rooted music of both regions.
With instruments such as the marimba, the Guanacaste quijongo, and the Limón quijongo, and rhythms like calypso and parrandera, the project aims to reveal the commonalities between both regions.
The concert will be presented by the Son Semillas collective, a group of five artists that combines music, performing arts, and audiovisual production with education and research on Afro-Latin music.
We research music linked to Afro-Latin roots or Abya Yala (the indigenous name for the Americas) (…) it is a quest to find identity through a process as powerful as migration,” explained Laura Angel Córdoba, one of the collective’s members.
“De Mar a Mar” will also feature singer-songwriters and researchers Karol Cabalceta and Margarita Rodríguez, both members of the Quij-Ngó Ensemble, and the women’s Cimarrona group “Las Independientes,” who will contribute Afro-Guanacastean and traditional rhythms characteristic of the province.
Far from being a traditional show where the audience is limited to listening, the event is designed to break down the barrier between the stage and the spectators.
We’re going to create participatory activities so that people can get involved in the songs themselves, whether with their bodies, their voices, or small percussion instruments,” said Córdoba.
Admission to the show is free, and it begins at 6 p.m.
The concert will feature special guests who will bring to life the rhythms that span Costa Rica from the Pacific to the Caribbean.
Following the performance in Santa Cruz, the collective, along with Cabalceta and Rodríguez, will travel to Cahuita to share the experience with the Asociación Embajadores y Embajadoras del Mar, continuing the musical gathering of both coasts.
A prelude to a song created by the community
The concert on May 22 will serve as an initial outreach to the province’s community, organizations and artistic collectives, inviting them to join a second gathering from June 12 to 15 in La Cruz.
During that time, Son Semillas and community members who wish to participate will compose a song together. “We want to come together, get to know one another, and build networks with those who work in the fields of art, community, and culture in the region,” explained the members of Son Semillas.
The song will be recorded and will feature a music video and a live performance. The purpose of this song is for it to emerge directly from the communities and their culture.
The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Youth’s Workshop Grants program and coordinated by the Quijongo Guanacasteco Community and the Association of Ambassadors of the Sea in Cahuita.
Event details:
What: “De Mar a Mar” Concert
Where: Centro Cívico por la Paz (next to the Santa Cruz Sports Complex)
Time: 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
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