ossory
San Jose in seven movements: a marimba that came down from Guanacaste and was sent to school, a gold theatre ceiling paid for by a tax the coffee exporters levied on themselves, and a cumbia danced wrong on purpose in the southern barrios until it became swing criollo, banned by the dance halls and then declared national heritage by the same state that banned it.
The Ceiling And The Dance Floor
Style
A suite rather than a blend, baseline 98 BPM, each section changing style outright with the seams left audible: bare hardwood marimba in thirds, a small concert orchestra playing straight, full cumbia with guira and congas over walking bass and low brass, a half-time passage with the drums out, loud ska and garage rock on upstroke organ and distorted guitar, a phased psychedelic cumbia lead, then marimba alone to close, female and male leads trading in blocks in one unbroken Central American Spanish accent.