Caribbean Coast
To the Rhythm of the Bongo Drums
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Oct 1, 2005, 16:24

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To the Rhythm of the Bongo Drums

People swarm to Limón each October captivated by the music, a clear expression of the thoughts and feelings of the Black community. Beyond the reverberating sounds of the Caribbean Carnival drums lay the music's ancestral roots.

These rhythms were born in various regions of Africa, whose people, upon immigrating, adapted them to the characteristics of American lands. From an early age, Afro-Caribbeans internalize their rhythms as part of a lifestyle in which their environment, their daily life and their artistic expressions are closely related.

Two principal rhythms exist on the Caribbean: Calypso and Reggae. Both inspire the youth and breathe life into dances and gatherings with friends and neighbors.

The first and more traditional rhythm is the Calypso has fairly old roots. Its interpreter, called ‘‘CaIypsonian” and its foundation, are based on the singing of the plantation slaves throughout the Caribbean, which transmitted, through the song, news and messages of the Black community without being heard or noticed by the masters.

Quince Duncan and Carlos Meléndez, researchers investigating this theme, comment in one of their studies that "The Calypso is native to the Caribbean, the expression of excellence among the English-speaking Antillean community. Its contents are the true chapters of the history of Black people, of their daily lives."

Limón has produced some important interpreters. Some are no longer alive, but their melodies remain a living force that passes on their people's ancestral roots to the younger generations. Among them we must mention Walter Ferguson, Joseph Darking ("Tun"), Edgar Hutchinson ("Pitdn") and Roberto Kirlew (''Buda''), for whom a guitar and a group of friends vvas enough inspiration to ''start the party'' on the porches of their homes.

The second rhythm, which perhaps has more relevance to the newer generations, is Reggae. This musical genre began in the 1960s as part of a movement to revitalize Black ethnicity. Its philosophy is based on the ideas of Marcus Garvey, who said Blacks should physically return to Africa to recuperate their ancestral roots.

The movement's main proponent was the popular Bob Marley, who sang about these philosophies in his lyrics and gained many followers.

The first Reggae heard in Costa Rica was imported, as its development occurred much later than the Antillean music. Reggae began in Costa Rica in the 1970s and took on increased popularity after Marley's death in 1981.

Younger musicians have recently emerged in Costa Rica and popularized the Reggae rhythm, but their themes have varied somewhat. Among them are Ragga by Roots, Baby Rasta, Marfil, the duo Banton and Ghetto and the soloist Tapón. Many of them reside in the capital and interpret their music with adaptations to please the public and obtain the sponsorship of international recording companies.