Calypso: The Music That Move You to Limon

The music from Limon which is Calypso has been very important in the construction of Limon´s culture due to it is relevant to know about the history of Calypso music and how it has become a popular music characteristic from Limon.

The Calypso Music began in Trinidad and Tobago, it was develop between the slaves; this kind of music was the only mean of communication that those slaves had because they were not allow to talk each other. In Limón emerged a type of music that is call Mento Music which is very similar to Kaiso or Kariso from Trinidad, the differences between Mento Music and Kaiso are that Mento Music is very acoustic and it was not very known; in the other hand, Kaiso was very popular at the beginning of 20th century; in addiction, it was not so acoustic. Kaiso was called Calypso by the United States media due to a mistake in the transcription. This music came to Costa Rica because in 1870 a lot of slaves from Jamaica, Barbados and Saint Kitts arrived to Limon with the objective of build a railroad there; in addiction, when the United Fruit Company was established in Limon many people from Antillas were hired.

The Mento Music and Calypso was combined by a Limon musician who thought that those two music together would sound better, and that is when Limon Calypso born.  

The Limon Calypso was considered a music from the working class because it was listened by people who were in a beach, snack bar, bars and street parties.

In addition, Limon Calypso has been considered a unique music from Limon because it is a mix of different types of music such as cumbia, salsa and Cuban son; because of the influence of popular bands as El Gran Combo or the Final Stars the calypsonians (people who play and sing Limon Calypso) stared developing a new kind of Calypso with those rhythms. The Calypso´s songs talk about the economic and cultural situations of Limon´s people. This kind of music is very used in Limon´s Carnivals.

Finally, Calypso is a type of music that represent Limon´s culture on account of it has a big history and characteristics which show who are Limon people.

Interview 

Name: Adrían Zumbado Avilés                          

Date: 29^th March 2016

Age: 18 years old

Questions

1. 1.    Does Calypso music have a high impact and importance in the construction of Costa Rica culture? Why?

Yes, it has a big impact because Calypso music represent Limon´s culture because it is a part or a branch of Costa Rica culture. Also, for Costa Rica is very important to keep its different cultures intact because of that I think that Calypso music is very important for our country.

1. 2.    Which characteristics do you consider that make Calypso a unique and relevant music inside Limon´s Culture?

Instruments are very unique from Calypso music and the song to because the intonation in every song has a different accent mark.

Resources

Si cultura. La música Calypso. Sistema de Información Cultural Costa Rica. 28 March 2016. Web. n.d. 

Van Velzer, Ryan. Costa Rican Music. Costa Rica Culture. 28 March 2016. Web. 21 June 2015.

Zumdado, Adrían. Personal interview. 29 March 2016.