Manuel Monestel
Areas of expertise
Sociology, Music
Degrees
- B.S. in Sociology, University of Costa Rica
- M.S. in Arts, University of Costa Rica
- Graduate Studies in Popular Culture and Ethnomusicology, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil
Potential student research areas
- The limonese calypso as an expression of the afrodescendant population of Costa Rica
- The African presence in the music of Costa Rica
- The sacred chants of the Bribri chamans
- Costa Rican music and radio broadcasting
- The political song in Costa Rica
- The Costa Rican New Song Movement
- Musical instruments and their ethnic origins
- Radio U and the alternative radio broadcasting in Costa Rica
Biography
Manuel Monestel has taught various courses and workshops at the University of Costa Rica and the Distance University of Costa Rica. These include: Ethnomusicology, Music and Cultural Industry, Music and Drama, and Music and Dance. In 2009, Mr. Monestel taught the course entitled Music, Industry and Society and was a fellow of The Society for the Humanities at Cornell University in New York. He has also headed cultural departments and projects at the University for Peace and the National Council of University Rectors. He has published articles in newspapers, journals and edited books. He wrote the book Ritmo Canción e Identidad: Una historia Sociocultural del Calypso Limonense (2003), award winner of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) prize for Best Book 2004. A singer and composer of over 100 songs, he has studied, recorded, and performed calypso music and other Caribbean styles in Costa Rica during the past three decades and has toured the Americas, Europe and Asia as leader of his band Cantoamerica, with La Orquesta de la Papaya, Orquesta del Rio Infinito, and as a soloist.
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