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Fernando Meza and Raziel Acevedo
Raziel Acevedo Alvarez is a researcher and professor at the University of Costa Rica (UCR). He has written articles and presented both nationally and internationally on the subject of the marimbas and traditional bands of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the province where he resides. He is an avid researcher of the oral musical traditions of Costa Rica and has written orchestral arrangements based on those traditions that have been performed by the Youth Orchestra of Costa Rica as well as the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Costa Rica. Prof. Acevedo chaired the pre-university program of the University of Costa Rica branch in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, and saw it develop into an integral part of the traditional culture of the region. Fernando A. Meza is Chair of Percussion Studies at the University of Minnesota School of Music in Minneapolis, where he is a full professor. Prior to his appointment at the U of M in 1993, he served on the faculties at The Ohio State University and the University of Costa Rica and was principal percussionist of the Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra for the 1989-1991 seasons.. Meza is an active performer with the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; has toured and recorded in Japan, the USA and Costa Rica with marimba legend Keiko Abe, and in Europe and USA with marimbist/composer Nebojsa J. Zivkovic. He was one of the five original percussionists for the Broadway production of Disney’s “The Lion King” and can be heard in the show’s original-cast recording. Meza was the percussion faculty member for the Orchestra of the Americas from 2003 to 2022 and is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator.

The Marimbas of Costa Rica

Saturday, November 14, 2026·9:00 AM – 9:50 AM·Room 201
Scholarly Research
Live

This session aims to present findings about the societal role of the traditional marimba in Costa Rica. Through an exhaustive research process spanning over two decades, the researchers (Raziel Acevedo, University of Costa Rica, and Fernando Meza, University of Minnesota) have identified important imprimaturs in this musical culture, unifying elements of Mesoamerican and African ancestry, as well as unique ones of a purely Costa Rican character.

Developed from traditions that grew out of the "marimba de arco" and diatonic instruments, marimba participants in Costa Rica include both professional and amateur musicians and builders. All of them have honed their craft on the chromatic marimba after intersecting with an instrument from Guatemala in the earlier part of the 20th century, and since that time have made it an integral part of the fabric of life in the country, particularly in the province of Guanacaste. Through the celebration of "fiestas patronales" in cities like Santa Cruz, Liberia, and Nicoya, as well as through cultural presentations throughout the country, the tradition of the marimba allows for the involvement of individuals from all walks of life to partake in this cultural representation.

The importance of the conservation of this tradition for the country has prompted not only the creation of an official school for young students (University of Costa Rica – "Escuela de Etapa Básica"), but also the creation of a "Marimba Forest" in the city of Santa Cruz, in order to create an ecologically balanced environment where materials needed for instruments and mallets can be harvested responsibly in order for this tradition to flourish and continue for generations to come.

This session will present to marimba enthusiasts from around the world for the first time at PASIC as a scholarly session the importance of the marimba within Costa Rican culture, in order to provide a deeper understanding of its roots, history, and impact within the country.