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Celebrating 101 years & Calypso Day in lockdown

May 7, 2020 at 9:05 am, No comments


Happy Birthday Methusalem! 

Today Walter Gavitt Ferguson, the Costa Rican calypso master, turns 101 years old, and he is in quite good mood. He thanks everyone for their kind and generous donations to the recently startet fundraiser, helping him and his family to make ends meet during the COVID-19 lockdown.


Unlike his 100th birthday a year ago, which was celebrated all over the country, nobody will shake his hands today...  The lockdown was a heavy blow for the retired Calypso King, as the Ferguson family lives off a small cabin rental business in Cahuita that can't survive without tourism. The ongoing fundraiser and the new Benefit Album "Keep the Cabin Above The Wata" are a big help to ease the financial pressure. 

Calypso Day at home...  Enjoy 2.5 hours of Costa Rican Calypso! 

Today is also the second time that Costa Rica celebrates National Calypso Day. And despite the Lockdown, you can still celebrate Calypso Day at home -  this is why we have put together a mix full of Limonense Calypso. So just press play and get in the mood. 

Muchas Gracias a Ramon Morales de Leche de Coco Calypso y a Jorge Salazar Navarro por contribuir a este mix.

The cover shows a photo of the actual "Cabin in the Wata" which was built by a fisherman called Bato as he refused to move away from his land when Cahuita National Park was created by the Government in 1970. You can listen to Don Walter recounting the whole story of the "Cabin in the Wata" in the following video (in spanish, thanks to Tania Robles):





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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:

In September 2021, another original tape was found in the USA: 


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. 

Also available: Benefit album "Keep The Cabin Above The Wata" with Tape Hunt versions of his favourite calypsos. 

Enjoy it on Spotify or Apple music

 

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