The fourth annual Mundoloco Festival, set for March 15, will take place at a new venue this year: Monte El Pizote in Sabanilla, east of San José.
Part of the Ruta al Festival Imperial, a series of concerts leading up to the showstopping April 19-20 Festival Imperial (see separate story below), this year’s Mundoloco Festival will feature a performance by well-known British reggae group Steel Pulse.
Organizer Bernal Monestel said there would be “easily” 5,000 to 6,000 people at the event, up from 3,000 last year. He added he was very excited about the event, “both in terms of the public response and the organization. The organization has been impeccable.
Everything has been taken into account; nothing has been forgotten.”
“It has been getting bigger each year and I think this time it is going to be the best yet,” he said.
The show has an ecological and ethnic theme this year. According to organizers, “the festival aims to promote an awareness of our natural resources and invites all those attending to stay in harmony with nature, protecting their surroundings.”
The event also aims to pay tribute to the country’s different indigenous groups. Indigenous artists set to perform include Unchi, a singer of the Ngöbe indigenous group in southern Costa Rica who performs with the group Jirondai.
Additionally, a recycling campaign will run throughout the festival,Monestel said.
“In this country, whenever people go to fiestas, they throw beer cans on the ground,” he noted. “And so we are promoting an awareness of recycling.”
Monestel stressed the importance of the new venue.
“The festival is on a hill with a hydroelectric plant nearby and a risk of pollution because of the development of the area,” he said. “Therefore, we are trying to defend the space, the small green space, that is left in that area.”
In total, the event, which starts at 10 a.m., will feature 14 hours of entertainment, with 20 bands performing music from around the world. Featured groups include Biosfera, Medieval, Amarillo Cian y Magenta, Peregrino Gris, Cardamomo, Baula Project and Sonámbulo. There will also be capoeira, flamenco and belly dancing exhibitions, an indigenous fair and other attractions.
Commenting on the inclusion of Steel Pulse in the lineup, Monestel said, “It is music that has its roots in Jamaica. Also there is the content – the music has a social message. Their songs talk about the land crisis, environmental and ecological problems and political issues, and so they fit well within the Mundoloco concept.”
Tickets cost ¢8,000 ($16) and include a CD with six tracks and two videos, two drinks and entry to the festival. They are on sale now at Librería Internacional stores.
Monte El Pizote is five kilometers east of El Cristo in Sabanilla. For a detailed map, see www.mundolocopro.com.
