"Wa' apin man? It apin already!"

October 24, 2019 at 9:37 am, No comments

This beautiful lost Calypso was only unearthed half a year ago in the USA. Hear what happened long time ago and enjoy some historic photographs from the Limon region.

This previously unreleased Calypso was found on one of Don Walter's priceless home recorded cassette tapes. The specific cassette belongs to US author Paula Palmer, who wrote a book called "Wa' apin man / What happen" in 1977. It is the first book about Talamancen culture and quite some pages are dedicated to Don Walter. He returned the favour by composing this Calypso.

We estimate there are still many dozens of songs missing, maybe captured on surviving casettes out there, waiting to be discovered again. Help us get the word out there to find more cassettes and save another piece of Costa Rican cultural history.

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots."-Marcus Garvey-

Historic post cards copyright by Imagenes Tropicales
Black and white photographs by South Caribe Roots Archive

Photo of Walter Ferguson wall painting by Christiane Zwick

Book by Paula Palmer

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Wa' apin, man? What happened?

Recovered treasures

In 2017, nine original tapes were located in Canada:

In 2018, six original tapes were found in Costa Rica:

In March 2019, five original tapes were recovered in the USA:

In May 2019, unreleased parts from Don Walter's "Folkways" album were donated to the Tape Hunt:

In January 2020, another five original tapes were found in Costa Rica:

In October 2020, the biggest catch containing 45 original tapes was unearthed in Costa Rica:

Available music albums

Currently Vol. 1 & 2 of the "Legendary Tape Recordings" are available - containing 30 previously unreleased Calypso treasures rescued by the Tape Hunt :