Manuel Monestel was born in San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica in 1950. He is a singer songwriter whose songs refer to local and universal topics mixing folk sounds with contemporary moods.
In 1974 Manuel Monestel founded his first band, Erome, dedicated to Latin American music. He later joined Tayac?n, led by Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy. Monestel was one of the cofounders of the Nueva Canción Costarricense (New Costa Rican Song), together with Luis Enrique, Rubén Pagura, Bernal Monestel, and Dionisio Cabal, among others.
In 1980, Manuel created Cantoamérica, a group that has recorded several albums and toured worldwide for over 25 years.
Since the 1980s, Manuel has researched and promoted Limonese Calypso, the music of the Afro-Costa Rican community.
In 2003 Monestel wrote the book Ritmo, Canción e Identidad: el Calypso Limonense (Rhythm, Song and Identity: The Limonese Calypso).
After recording a dozen albums with Cantoamérica, Monestel recorded a solo album after a trip he made to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, accompanying Manuel Obregón and the Orquesta de la Papaya. The recording, One Pant Man, was recorded at the Papaya Music studios and features Manuel Obregón.
Discography:
Solo albums:
One pant man (Papaya Music, 2003).
Merry woman (Kaiso Music, 2008)
With Cantoamérica:
Seguirá el Amor (Kaiso Music, 1982)
Haciendo el Día (Nord/Sud Records, 1985)
Cantoamérica (1986)
Buscando esa Bella Flor (Kaiso Music, 1988)
Canto de la Tierra (Kaiso Music, 1990)
Por la Calles de la Vida (Kaiso Music, 1995)
Aribarumba (Kaiso Music, 1997)
Calypsonians (Kaiso Music, 1999)
Palale Pot (Kaiso Music, 2002)
Vamos Cantoamérica (DYM, 2003)
Cantoamérica, 25 Años (Kaiso Music, 2006)
Vientos del Caribe (Papaya Music, 2007)
Vuela otra vez (Kaiso Music, 2015)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
