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People and Groups
Walter Ferguson Byfield ‘Gavitt’ (7 May 1919 – 25 February 2023)
When he began attending school at the age of 7, he had already taught himself to play the ukulele (the first one he played), guitar and harmonica. He watched the Cahuiteños from six o’clock in the evening, at nightfall, who gathered to play and dance to the rhythm of calypso. By ear, he learned to rhyme and compose in the calypso style that was beginning to develop in the region.
His first calypso was composed at the age of 20, during World War II and was called A Sailing Boat, inspired by a day he watched a coastal policeman stop a suspicious speedboat.
He was part of Conjunto Miserable in the 1950s, where he still did not sing, but played the clarinet. The Conjunto played swing, boleros, guaracha, rumba, calypso and quadrille for the Saturday
in Caribe
night dances at the Club House in Cahuita. Around 1970, he decided to retire from live music and began recording his calypsoes.
In 1982 his song Black Man Food, interpreted by Roberto Kirlew ‘Buda’, won an award. That same year, Mr. Gavitt recorded his first album: Calypso of Costa Rica. In 1986 he recorded a second album: Calipsos del Caribe de Costa Rica. In 2002, the label Papaya Music released his first album titled Babylon. In 1992 he was awarded the National Popular Culture Prize by the MCJ. The albums Babylon and Dr. Bombodee (2004) became Gold Records under the Papaya Music label, both in 2007. In 2009 he was awarded the “Reca” Mora Prize by ACAM for his lifelong dedication to calypso composition.
In his honor, the International Calypso Festival – Cahuita was established in 2013, a cultural event where Afro-Costa Rican culture is
mixed with music, traditional food and dance. His songs emerged from his daily experiences. His compositions include G.O.O.D., Callaloo, Tacuma and Anancy’s Party, Monilia, One Pant Man, Going to Bocas, Computer, Blessed Calypsonian, National Park, Chiny Man, The King of Calypso, Manzanillo, Glamour Gal, Everybody’s Running to the Carnival, On Carnival Day, Pants Tearing Off, Bachelor Room, Land Lady, Mano Piedra, Cabin in the water, Babylon, River Bank, Bombero, Sam See (confrontation between a calypsonian and a Chinese gentleman).
Ferguson is a composer of experiences, which humorously reflect the daily life of his people, romantic escapades, conflicting communal struggles and love for God. It is a clear reference and icon of the tradition and idiosyncrasy of the Afro-Caribbean culture of the Talamanca coast.
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