Walter “Gavitt” Ferguson Byfield, better known as Walter Ferguson, was born May 7, 1919 in Guabito, Panama. His father, Melsha Lorenzo Ferguson, was a Jamaican farm worker for the United Fruit Company, and his mother, Sarah Byfield Dykin, a Costa Rican seamstress and baker of Jamaican background. When Walter was two years old, his parents moved from Panama to the small fishing village of Cahuita on the Atlantic Coast in the Costa Rican province of Limón, where he has spent the rest of his life.
Walter Ferguson is a legendary singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist dedicated to Limonese calypso, a type of calypso music rooted in Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast.
Ferguson put together his first calypso band in his thirties. The group played at local festivals and events.
In his forties, he formed a second band called Los Miserables that performed Cuban genres like guaracha, rumba and bolero.
Although music has played an essential role in Ferguson’s life, he worked as a farmer to maintain himself and the large family he had with his wife Julia Drummond.
In 2020, well-known artists from 16 countries recorded an album dedicated to Walter Ferguson titled 100 Years of Calypso Walter Ferguson.
Partial Discography:
Mr. Gavitt – Calypso of Costa Rica (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 1982)
Calypsos – Afro-Limonese Music Of Costa Rica (Lyrichord, 1991)
Babylon (Papaya Music, 2003)
Dr. Bombodee (Papaya Music, 2004)
Dr. Bombodee & Babylon (Papaya Music, 2014), compilation
King Of Calypso Limonense (Bongo Joe, 2018)
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.