Guadalupe Urbina

Guadalupe Urbina (born 28 October 1959) is a Costa Rican singer-songwriter, poet, and activist. Urbina is a folk musician whose compositions reflect the oral tradition of Guanacaste, her birthplace. She has performed in both Europe and the United States as the youngest of ten children of Nicaraguan immigrants. She was born into a rural household in a town with no electricity and did not own shoes until she was eleven years old. Urbina recalls learning the traditional tales that she would perform through her career from her mother, Ángela Juárez, during her childhood. By the time she was eight years old, she was a frequent performer at family events, possessing a large repertoire that she had learned from her mother or heard on the radio. By the end of the decade, Urbina had toured internationally and performed in venues in Spain, Senegal, France, Canada, and the United States. A year later, she was presented with Radio France's American Discovery Award by Youssou N'Dour. Under a government scholarship, Urbina refined her singing technique and practiced with percussion instruments. She also taught in workshops alongside musicians Angélique Kidjo, Bobby McFerrin, and Mari Boine. Urbina released her 2001 album Trópico Azul De Lluvia under Belgian-Dutch world music label Culture Records. One of the album's songs, "Agosto Azul", was included on The Rough Guide to the Music of Central America and was praised in a review by RootsWorld magazine: those "...who miss the exquisite poetry and visionary yearning of revolutionary Central American trova will welcome this subtle recording." Putumayo World Music, a world music label, also included her music on their album Garden of Eden.

In 2011, Urbina published the song book Sones de mi Tierra Caliente comprising unpublished and anonymous songs of the Guanacaste province, and performed the songs at a concert at the National Theatre of Costa Rica. The song book was a result of research Urbina had conducted on the oral tradition of Guanacaste starting in 1984, during which she collected hundreds of songs using grants from ACAM and the Spanish Cultural Center. A concert dedicated to supporting Urbina while she was ill was organized in San Isidro in 2012.

Continued activism and recognition (2010spresent) During the 2014 Costa Rican general election, Urbina announced her support of presidential candidate José María Villalta, of the Broad Front. Later that year she published the book Palabras de Larga Noche, her first work of poetry. Later that year, the Association of Composers and Authors of Costa Rica (ACAM) recognized Urbina for her compilation of works, Sones Afromestizos de Amor y de Humor (2016). A series of stamps dedicated to national musicians, featuring Urbina and musicians Amelia Barquero, José Capmany, and , were promoted by ACAM and endorsed by the national postal service Correos de Costa Rica that year.

Urbina participated in a campaign organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture to honor food industry workers working through the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Later that month, ACAM presented Urbina with its award, citing her lifetime dedication to music as well as the influence and importance of her musical legacy.

On a February 2021 broadcast by the program of the University of Costa Rica, Urbina delivered a statement with program director Mauricio Álvarez and activist Osvaldo Durán that denounced the "impunity for crimes against indigenous people", and specifically spoke about the murder of Bribri leader Sergio Rojas and perceived inaction by the state. The statement was signed by seventy five national and international organizations and more than one hundred twenty individuals, including academics and activists. One year after the murder of land activist Yehry Rivera on 24 February 2020, Urbina and the Orquesta de las Selvas Tropicales (Orchestra of the Tropical Rainforests) published an adaptation of León Gieco's "Cinco Siglos Igual" as a tribute to the efforts of Indigenous communities in protecting their land rights and traditions.

Artistry According to musician and professor Juan Carlos Ureña, Urbina's songs "reflect the force of her land and people and the sounds and traditions of Guanacaste folklore." She has also incorporated aspects of African heritage into her music.

Urbina has produced feminist works. Since 1991, she has been involved in various stage productions centered on the history of Latin American women.

Personal life

Urbina owns a farm in the agricultural cooperative of Longo Maï, between the Costa Rican cantons of Pérez Zeledón and Buenos Aires. She also spends time with her two children who live south of San José.

Works Albums Romances de allá y de acá vol. 3 (1989, with Joaquín Díaz) 100 Varas al Sur del Herediano (1995, with Callejeros) Homenaje a la Madre Tierra, en vivo desde el Teatro Fanal (1995) De Todos Modos (1996, with Callejeros) Trópico Azul de Lluvia (2002) La madremonte, ritmos cuentos y canciones. Infantil. (2002) Al Menudeo (2003) Sones de Tierra Caliente (2011) Mis Canciones Que Te Gustan (compilation album, 2012) Cantos Simples del Amor de la Tierra (2016) Sones Afromestizos de Amor y de Humor (2016)

Books