Showing posts with label Walter 'Gavitt' Ferguson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walter 'Gavitt' Ferguson. Show all posts

17.6.11

But callaloo, everybody love callaloo...

   
Calypsos Limonenses
Calypso songs in Spanish and English.
2005.

Tracks:

01. Herberth Clinton Henry - Nowhere like Limón
02. Leonardo Hadden Macfarlane - Nathy flee
03. Geelferd Alfonso Bantan Drowon - True born Costa Rica
04. Irving Burgie - Jamaica farewell
05. Wálter Gavitt Ferguson - Callaloo
06. Rodrigo Alexander Smith - Rice and beans
07. Anónima - Sweet calypso
08. Reynaldo Kenton Kenton - Juan Santamaría
09. Arnold Arnold Cleveland - Peace in Central America
10. Rolando Gurzón Solano - Costa Rica tierra de paz
11. Marcos Forbes Forbes - Playa Bonita
12. Junior Emilio Alvarez Alvarez - Reggae express
13. Harold George Belafonte - Banana boat
14. Herberth Clinton Henry - Mama come and take me home
15. Sergio Morales Alvarez - En El Tortuguero
16. Víctor Barrantes Montero - The Limón what used to be
17. Johnny Dixon Shields - Caribbean people
18. Luis Angel Castro - Puerto Viejo
19. Cantoamerica - Tacuma and Anancy´s party
20. Marcos Forbes Forbes - Where the Mana´s gone
  
♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫
        
        
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Puerto Limon’s big festival of the year is on Columbus Day (October 12th) when the whole town parties to the sounds of raggae, calypso and  salsa. Street parades, music, dancing and drinking go on for days and people come from all over the country to party with the Limonenses. Calypso music is also still popular, although since the 1970’s raggae has replaced calypso as Puerto Limon’s favorite kind of music. Such groups as New Revelation, Charro Limonense and Cahuita Calypso are still popular, singing in both Creole English and Spanish. A collection of their songs can be found on the excellent CD Calypso Costa Rica (1996).

 Most blacks in Limon speak both Creole English and Spanish. Many younger Limonenses speak only Spanish. Afro-Antilleans in Limon province number around 80,000, with 50,000 or so others living in other parts of the country, mostly in San Jose and in the larger cities of the meseta central. Creole English is spoken not only in Puerto Limon and in the areas where the Afro-Antilleans settled to work, but also in small communities scattered along the Caribbean coast south of Puerto Limon towards the Panamanian border. Small towns such as Cahuita continue to show off their Creole culture in music, dancing, cooking, language and the use of medicinal plants reflecting an African heritage. The village of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is inhabited by both Creoles and native Americans who live and work side by side. 
 
  
 
  
Wálter "Gavitt" Ferguson
    
  
 EVERYBODY GOT ITS OWN OPINION
SOME MAY BE RIGHT, AND SOME MAY BE WRONG
BUT CALALOO, EVERYBODY LOVES CALALOO
A BLESSING FROM ABOVE

YOU EAT IT IN THE MORNING, AND YOU EAT IT IN THE DAY
YOU EAT IT IN WHEN YOU FEEL THAT YOU WILL BREAK AWAY
CALALOO, EVERYBODY LOVES CALALOO
A BLESSING FROM ABOVE

YOU EAT IT IN THE MORNING, AND YOU EAT IT IN THE NIGHT
YOU EAT IT WHEN YOU FEEL THAT YOU WILL LOSE YOUR SIGHT
CALALOO, EVERYBODY LOVES CALALOO
A BLESSING FROM ABOVE

I KNEW A WOMAN SHE NAME WAS SUE
SHE WOKE UP ONE MORNING ALL BLACK AND BLUE
SHE CALL TO HER SISTER HER NAME WAS LU
BEG HER TO COOK HER SOME CALALOO
CALALOO, EVERYBODY LOVES CALALOO
A BLESSING FROM ABOVE

GOOD FOR YOUR BELLY AND GOOD FOR YOUR SIGHT
TIGHTEN EVERY JOINT THAT IS GETTING SLACK
BUT CALALOO, EVERYBODY LOVES CALALOO
A BLESSING FROM ABOVE 
   
  
~~

16.6.11

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
 
♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫
        
        
♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•☆♫`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫
  
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
  
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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
 
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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.