Several musical traditions and styles meet and mingle in Costa Rica. The northern Guanacaste region is a hotbed of folk music that is strongly influenced by the marimba (wooden xylophone) traditions of Guatemala and Nicaragua, while also featuring guitars, maracas, and the occasional harp. On the Caribbean coast you can hear traditional calypso sung by descendants of the original black workers brought over to build the railroads and tend the banana plantations. Roving bands play a mix of guitar, banjo, washtub bass, and percussion in the bars and restaurants of Cahuita and Puerto Viejo.
There's also a healthy contemporary music scene. The jazz-fusion trio Editus has won two Grammy awards for its work with Panamanian salsa giant (and movie star and Tourism minister) Rubén Blades. Meanwhile, Malpaís, the closest thing Costa Rica has to a super-group, is a pop-rock outfit that is tearing it up in Costa Rica and around Central America.
You should also seek out discs by Cantoamérica, which plays upbeat dance music ranging from salsa to calypso to merengue. Jazz pianist Manuel Obregón (a member of Malpaís) has several excellent solo albums out, including Simbiosis, on which he improvises along with the sounds of Costa Rica's wildlife, waterfalls, and weather; as well as his work with the Papaya Orchestra, a collaboration and gathering of musicians from around Central America.
Local label Papaya Music (www.papayamusic.com) has done an excellent job promoting and producing albums by Costa Rican musicians in a range of styles and genres. Their offerings range from the Guanacasteca folk songs of Max Goldemberg, to the boleros of Ray Tico, to the original calypso of Walter "Gavitt" Ferguson. You can find their discs at gift shops and record stores around the country, as well as at airport souvenir stores.
Classical music lovers will want to head to San José, where there's a symphony orchestra, youth symphony, opera company, and choir. The local symphony sometimes features the works of local composers like Benjamin Guitiérrez and Eddie Mora. On occasion, small-scale music festivals will bring classical offerings to some of the beach and inland tourist destinations around the country.
Bars and discos around the country spin salsa, merengue, and cumbia, as well as more modern grooves that include house, electronic, trip-hop, and reggaeton.
