Walter Ferguson

Here is the one artist that made me buy music for the first time on iTunes. Yes, I spent $.99/song for the first time this week. And you know what? It was well worth my money!

Walter Ferguson was born in Guabito, Panama. His family soon settled in Costa Rica and he spent most of his childhood in Jamaica Town, a neighborhood in Port Limon. There he lived in his aunt´s house, where he used to receive organ lessons. His parents moved to Cahuita, a small hamlet in the far South of the province, where he lives until today.

Walter Ferguson is, without a doubt, one of the most important and ingenious popular songwriters in Costa Rica. His songs have a balanced combination of form and content that shows the presence and evolution of Afro Costa Rican culture, departing from their Caribbean roots.

This “blessed calypsonian”, as said in one of his songs, is one of those rare artists, which is why we are so fortunate to have the chance of knowing his work and him. This disc wishes to pass this good fortune to all its listeners.

From his tiny and beloved Cahuita, Mr. Gavitt –as his people call him- has managed to project himself, thanks to the authenticity of his compositions.

His first CD Babylon includes his dearest songs, the songs that write the history of his hometown with a peculiar style in calypso music. Anecdotes, facts, fiction, his neighborhood or imaginary characters all come together in a stage created by Mr. Gavitt. This CD includes episodes and melodies in a sort of musical play of Afro Limonese life.

Episodes such as the King of Calypso facing an asian singer in perfect mandarin; the calypsonian abandoned by his once faithful woman; the musician replaced by a hi-fi appliance and a t.v.; the schoolboy misunderstood by his teacher are just a few of his themes, treated with humor, irony and great honesty.