04.07.2013 - Matambu Community, Costa Rica

Another morning catching up on blog posts and then breakfast with our fellow hotel guests. The community style table was set with American flag napkins which alluded my attention until Mama commented that they must be helping us to celebrate the 4th of July holiday in the United States. I had forgotten that I would me missing it again this year. Talked to Kevin who is entertaining his brother for fireworks this evening on his trip up from LA. Sad to be missing them both. I am happy to celebrate the 4th of July and the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence which have a lot to teach us today if we give the credence. That said, we should remember that the people who claimed their independence were themselves colonists of an inhabited land who built their wealth on the backs of slaves. History is written by those who survive to write it and have the means to publish it. But other histories are written too.

Alicia and I hitched a ride to the other hotel (which I cannot find a link to) for some pool time. Apparently, 50 or so local school kids had the same great idea. They were on some organized day trip as schools in the country are still on their two week June break (we called it summer break once but we were corrected that the tropics only have two seasons: wet and dry). While this wasn't the quiet poolside day we expected it was a lot of fun to have their lively energy about, not to mention the DJ that accompanied them. It actually reminded me of pool parties at James Lemos city pool in Benicia as a kid - my own parties and the ones I worked as a lifeguard. Kids = better days.

Later, a bus took us downtown for lunch at Bosque Modelo Chorotega, the regional model forest office. When other group members trickled  we had a short presentation about the organization. We learned that 10% of the nation's land is under ecological protected, funded by a 3% gas tax which generates $13 million annually for conservation efforts. The organization also includes the marine protection areas which are seen as integral to the protection of land areas. We also found out that environmental leaders will be working in San Jose tomorrow to initiate a carbon offset program for multinational corporations as part of a long-term strategy toward economic and ecological sustainability. Costa Rica has a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2015, perhaps a goal that will not be achieved but more noble than not making a commitment and working toward actualizing it. Hint hint, USA.

Next stop to the Motambu community, an indigenous community residing in the hills above Hojancha and now an integral part of the Bosque Modelo movement. We were welcomed by community leaders who toured us around the city beginning with the community center, the pillars of which are carved to tell important aspects of their cultural heritage. We walked down toward the church where monkeys played in the trees overhead, then around the soccer fields where youth were in practice, and up to the grade school. Dominic delivered soccer balls to the kids while Mike, Liana, and Katie joined the practice. A rain shower broke out between the afternoon sunshine and we made our way inside to prepare for our final concert of the tour.

Before our concert began a cleaning ceremony was performed. The community center where we gathered was built on ancestral burial grounds to honor those buried there and the ceremony is intended to show them respect and ask their blessing for our evening's activities. This was just one of a number of things that made this concert so special. As I said, this was our last concert of the tour but it was also our director's, Rodger, final concert as he retires from 25 years of leading the chorus since he helped found it. This made it an emotional evening for him, his wife and choruster, Anne, and countless singers who have shared in the life of Kulshan Chorus.

But for some of the Matambu community this was also a special evening. One of our hosts shared that a number of youth from the community had been invited to participate in a cultural exchange in Ecuador a few years ago. The youth prepared with song and dance, rehearsed their parts, purchased their plane tickets, and were shocked to discover that a last minute decision had been made by local authorities to send a group from another Costa Rican town instead of the youth from Matambu. The leader sharing this story was emotional retelling it and said that the Matambu community is "invisible" in Costa Rica. It was impossible not to think how true this is for the native peoples in North America and around the world and even in my hometown of Bellingham. This evening, he said to us, was an opportunity to share a part of their culture as they had hoped to on that trip and to also experience the music we had to share with them. We all participate, every day, in the larger story of the communities and people with whom we interact and each encounter is an opportunity to honor one another and to heal the stories of our own lives through a willingness to listen.

Our concert was followed by traditional dance from the Matambu youth, words of thanks and appreciation to and from the Matambu community members, and a presentation of mask delivered from Lummi Tribe in Bellingham to the people of Matambu. We ate dinner in the community center to the sound of our concert which had been recorded - the firs time some chorusters had ever been on the other end of a Kulshan concert. The air was thick and heavy as we said our goodbyes and took to our bus seats.

The reality of our trip's conclusion began to set in on the way back to Hojancha but was pushed aside as we arrived into town to the sound of our Catholic school band in full swing, yet again. Members of the community had come out to say goodbye on our final night and we danced beneath the park lights to the sound of horns and drums blaring in the dark while masked children twirled and lightning struck like fireworks. I still miss home but there was no better way to celebrate the spirit of the 4th of July than this evening in Costa Rica.