Natalia Esquivel

Natalia Esquivel Benítez (born 15 December 1973 in San José) is a Costa Rican composer, guitarist, singer-songwriter, author, poet, vocalist and academic in musical education.

Career Esquivel studied musical education at the National University of Costa Rica; further she obtained a master's degree at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Esquivel has been actively promoting the development of reading and music for children, alongside the concept of "musicking" set forth by Christopher Small; music is conceived as a process to help build learning and enhance the pupil's abilities, including the development of competencies needed in their life. Her music workshops, supported by religious authorities, have set a local precedent in this regard. Another meaningful influence in her work has been the German Orff Schulwerk.

Esquivel has been an artist-in-residence with Spanish composer of social music Marta Lozano Molano, conducting a musical project for rural areas and communities under social risk; its 17 songs invite to reflect on ecological and social values, based on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Style Her musical repertoire is inspired by the work of Billy Joel, Ana Belén, Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, and Violeta Parra, among others.

Selected works Arrullos de sol y mar (Clubdelibros, 2015; 2nd ed. 2021) Música para el niño preescolar (EUNED, 2017) Nana de la luna (Ocarina, 2020) Andamios de lluvia (Poiesis Ediciones, 2021) Canto planetario: hermandad en la Tierra. Volumen I (various authors, ed. Carlos Javier Jarquín). Antology. Costa Rica: H.C. Editores, 2023.